


Hold Me Close

by cleopatras



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Dream's POV, Enemies to Lovers, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sapnap is the best wingman, Unrequited Love, but its fake, but they don't know it's mutual, friends who flirt with each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-21
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:48:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 42,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27661595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cleopatras/pseuds/cleopatras
Summary: “Honey, you’ve always liked it when I go too far,” George responded too smoothly and too much like velvet to not wrap around Dream’s throat and suffocate him gently.George and Dream hate each other according to any watcher of the Dream Team streams, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Dream didn't realize quite how wrong they were until George flirts with him on stream and all sorts of feelings float to the surfacetitle from Breathe by James Arthur
Relationships: Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 548
Kudos: 2848
Collections: Cute MCYT, UHHHH THIS SHIT IS WELL WRITTEN B), finished reads





	1. You Killed Him!

**Author's Note:**

> If any of you tell the CCs about this, I'm pulling a Heat Waves and discontinuing this. I lived through Phan and I can't do it again

Dream runs a hand through his hair, he’s sweatier than normal but that’s just a side effect of June in Florida. Or, well, Florida in general. He doesn’t complain yet, but he will when his legs stick to his chair when he finally gets up. He’s been on Sapnap’s stream for an hour so far, so he had time to spare until he had to reap what he had sown. Still, it was a relatively calm day. Sapnap really just wanted some help completing an elaborate treehouse he claimed came to him in a dream and he simply  _ had _ to make it, but it was too much work to do it alone. Thinking about it, Sapnap probably just wanted to spend time with his friends outside of SMP or weird challenges for videos.

“Dream, I think George is gonna hop on, he says he wants to help,” Sapnap’s voice got Dream out of his building-induced haze as he was trying to remember where to put the logs where Sapnap wanted them. 

“Hm? Okay, sounds good,” he tried to seem reserved, but he was thrilled if he was being honest. Streams with George were always entertaining since the two seemed to bring out the worst in each other. Really it was all just jokes and jabs, but their viewers seemed to never realize this. Even now as Sapnap mentioned the other’s name, the chat was going wild with warnings as if George and Dream couldn’t be in the same figurative room together. Dream let out a light chuckle, “Chill, guys, I’m sure George can behave.”

That, of course, set them off more which only made him laugh. Moments later George joined the game, followed by the call, “Hello, hello. I’m here providing free labor for Sap.” 

“Took you long enough, I’ve been doing all the heavy lifting,” Dream fake-yawned, chastising the two of them, “Sapnap hasn’t done anything and this is  _ his  _ treehouse.”

“I am collecting flowers for my decorative garden, I’ll have you know,” Sapnap defended himself as his avatar hit him in the game. 

Dream gasped, “Watch those hands or I’ll quit.”

“Typical of you,” George snorted, “Just like you gave up on helping me build my hobbit hole.” 

“One man can only handle so much digging,” he groaned as he continued placing blocks while simultaneously trying to get Sapnap to fall off the ledge. He laughed quietly to himself as the other boy yelled at him. 

“Stop bullying Sapnap and actually do your job,” the other groaned as he smacked Dream to snap him out of it. Dream’s response was to turn around and smack George instead. “No wonder Sapnap wanted me to join, you’re useless.” 

The chat went crazy with this one, even though Dream wasn’t streaming currently, he had his phone open to Twitch with Sapnap’s stream playing so he could keep an eye on chat. It was pretty entertaining usually, so it was more for his own enjoyment rather than any damage control. He watched as someone donated to Sapnap with the text saying, “ _ Tell George to stop bullying Dream.” _

“In George’s defense,” Sapnap began which set the chat off on its own, “Dream was bullying me so I am in fact, the victim, and George is my hero.”

“Don’t team up on me, I swear to God,” Dream tried to hold back the chuckle that was threatening to fall past his lips, trying to keep up an air of defensiveness to keep the chat on his side. He was the victim here, for Christ’s sake. “You guys are just bitter that I keep winning because you suck at killing me in speedrunner.”

“Stop bringing that up!” George shouted, but there was no malice behind it. Anyone who knew George’s mannerisms and tone shifts would know that immediately, both of which were things Dream paid close attention to. It was the reason they were able to keep their little charade going just because he knew how to tell when he was going too far. It was always fun to see how far he could push George before he had to reel it in. 

Dream tried to sound hurt, but it ended up coming out far too arrogant, “I can’t help it I’m just unbeatable. Maybe try getting on my level next time.” 

“That’s it, I’ve had enough,” George said before he pushed Dream off the edge of the treehouse he had yet to board up. Thankfully, he had a bucket of water to break the fall, but he was still going to be bitter about it. “Aw, come on, why is the chat mad? You guys know I love Dream.”

“Darling, you’ve gone too far,” Dream teased, doing his best Transatlantic accent and failing miserably. He wondered if George blushed at the pet name, but if the boy was embarrassed, he didn’t indicate it in his voice. Dream reluctantly acknowledged this wasn’t a normal concern to have when fake-flirting with your friend in the tone of an old Hollywood film star, but he would unpack that later. 

“Honey, you’ve  _ always _ liked it when I go too far,” George responded too smoothly and too much like velvet to not wrap around Dream’s throat and suffocate him gently. The boy choked, trying to hide his miniature shock at the remark as he rushed to mute his mic. 

After he didn’t respond, Sapnap started laughing, “Dude, you killed him! You killed Dream! I can’t stand you two!” 

Dream caught his breath, trying to regain his composure before he even dared to turn his mic back on. It was rare he and George flirted with each other because they were friends and friends don’t flirt with each other. Friends that half of Twitter is convinced literally hate each other’s guts don’t flirt with each other on stream. George had to be joking, of course, he was joking, it was a joke. So,  _ why  _ were Dream’s cheeks so warm? Maybe he was coming down with something. Yeah, that was it. 

“It’s gonna take a lot more than that to kill me,” Dream finally turned his mic back on now that he could handle it, “George knows that better than anyone considering how many times I’ve kicked his ass in Death Swap.”

“First of all, it’s only been three times,” George shot back right away, “That lava trap was unfair and you know it.”

“Don’t hate the player, hate the game.”

“I will gladly despise both,” said the other. Dream let out a small laugh at this just because of how quickly George had responded. 

“You guys are like children fighting over who gets to eat the glue stick and I am the pre-school teacher trying her best,” Sapnap sighed in a monotone voice, causing both George and Dream to burst into laughter. “Chat, hey, chat, when did  _ I  _ become the dad friend? Who let that happen? Why am I more mature than the literal twenty-year-olds?”

“I’m twenty-one--”

“You know what I mean!” Sapnap cut Dream off before he could finish what he was saying, causing the boy to let out a snicker at how irritated he was. “You know what, I can’t take this anymore. Short stream today, guys, we’ll work on the treehouse tomorrow, I’m done babysitting.”

“Aw, no, I just got here!” George complained, but the screen on Twitch had already gone black and the chat frozen, “Are we that bad?”

Sapnap laughed, still in the call, “Nah, I just wanted an excuse to end the stream because I’m tired as hell. See y’all later.”

“Y’all,” George mocked softly as they heard the ping of Sapnap leaving the call. “Hey, Dream, before you go, was what I said really so bad you had to mute your mic?”

“Try not to sound too proud of yourself,” Dream scoffed, “It just caught me off guard, sheesh, you aren’t usually like that on stream. Careful or we’ll start seeing fanart on Twitter.”

“Oh, mercy me, not the fanart,” George spoke in mock fear, causing both of them to let out small laughs, “Anyway, I should probably go, I know it’s getting late for you considering it’s early as hell for me. Talk to you later.”

Dream nodded, momentarily forgetting the boy couldn’t see him but not minding, “Yeah, yeah, talk to you later.”

They both left the call and Dream turned off his computer for the night, pushing himself back in his chair, letting his wheels scrape against the hardwood floor. As soon as he was away from his desk, Patches, who had been waiting in the shadows, launched herself onto his lap. He chuckled softly and scratched behind her ears while he contemplated going to bed or not. 

After a moment, his phone buzzed. It was a text from George, surprisingly. 

_ thought you might need some help w this ;) _ the text read along with a link to a song that Dream saw was titled “Breathe.” 

He let out a small laugh responding with,  _ ha ha very funny.  _

_ no, but seriously listen to it it’s good :) okay, goodnight!! _

Dream chuckled to himself at the boy’s enthusiasm as he responded with a quick goodnight before clicking on the link and opening Spotify.

The lyrics layered over a rhythmic guitar beat flooded his headphones as Dream finally stood up, his cat mewling and hopping off of him as he did so. He fell back onto his bed, scrolling through Twitter as the song played. 

_ All I know is that I need you, baby,  _ the lyrics caught his attention once he realized this was a love song,  _ Hold me close so I can finally breathe.  _

Dream raised his eyebrows as the song continued, there were plenty of songs named Breathe or something along those lines. Ariana Grande had one, Taylor Swift had one, those were easy picks, but no, George picked this one. Frantically, he searched the name of the song, looking for an analysis of the lyrics so he could make sure he wasn’t reading this wrong, but there was nothing he could find. 

“Ugh, come on  _ Genius,  _ aren’t you supposed to be all-knowing?” Dream groaned as he looked at the lyrics. He gave up, closing the tab and throwing his phone beside him as the song played out. 

George had sent him a love song. On purpose. Maybe. To be determined. Yeah, Dream was definitely going to unpack this later. 


	2. Maybe I Do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream tries to put everything back to normal. He fails miserably.

When Dream woke up the next morning, he rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he reached for his phone on the bedside table. It had just vibrated, signaling a text and Dream wondered who would be texting him first thing in the morning. Well, at nine in the morning, so maybe it was reasonable. 

Surprisingly, it was a text from Sapnap reading, _Check Twitter lmao_

“Oh, God,” Dream muttered to himself as he exited out of the conversation without responding, opening up the Twitter app with only a minimal sense of dread. It wasn’t as if anything too crazy happened on Stream yesterday, it was really just normal back and forth for George and Dream. Surely the fans couldn’t be freaking out too much about it. Checking his mentions, he was sorely mistaken. 

_Fawnwastaken: please god tell me someone clipped george and dream flirting on the stream or was it just a fever dream_

Okay, so the first tweet wasn’t _that_ bad, it was just asking for a clip. That was a perfectly normal thing to happen after Twitch streams and looking at the replies, someone had clipped what Dream could only assume was him choking after George’s response on stream. It was less than ideal, but it was nothing Dream couldn’t handle. Plenty of funny moments got immortalized in clips all the time. Nothing out of the ordinary. 

_Dreamfan101: anyone else getting a little bit of a gay vibe_

Looking at the tweet, it had attached the same exact clip. He had seen this coming, he even joked about it with George, this was no big deal. So, why did he feel like he had just been caught in a lie? He stared at his phone and the numerous tweets about George and him and he felt… exposed. He did _not_ like this feeling. 

He should tweet about this, right? Should he? What would he even say? He groaned and decided to text Sapnap, _should i say something or let it be??_

_Depends, does it make you uncomfortable?_ Sapnap responded quickly which Dream was thankful for considering this was something he wasn’t sure he wanted to talk to George about. He had a feeling talking about this with George would lead to more joking and more flirting and he could not handle that right now. 

He hesitated over his phone keyboard for a minute. Did it make him uncomfortable? He had always been fine with shipping before, but that was because it had never been with George. Well, there was usually _some_ shipping, but never this much in such a short amount of time. He didn’t want fans to think he wasn’t okay with it, especially since he had mentioned that he didn’t mind it in the past. It brought comfort to fans, especially the LGBT fans, so why should he condemn it? Maybe because they were getting a little too close to the truth. He _could_ always just play it off. 

With a sigh, he opened Snapchat and messaged George, _Hey, you’ve seen twitter?_

_Yes lmao it’s so funny,_ the response was immediate. Dream wondered if George had been waiting for him to text him. No, no that was stupid to think about, George had probably just already been on the phone. He was definitely thinking too hard about this. 

_You’re cool if I like joke about it on twt and stuff?? Or would you rather i tell people to knock it off?_ Dream could have never imagined there was ever a situation that would arise when he would need to have a conversation like this with George. Most of the time, people stayed away from shipping them due to their (usually accidental) animosity on stream with each other. Only a few people would ever mention them, citing “enemies to lovers,” whatever that meant.

George’s response took a little longer this time, which of course caused Dream’s heart to start pounding wondering if he had said something wrong. Everything seemed off with George, but that had to be all in his head because George would have told him if something was wrong, right? 

_Yeah that’s fine, I was probably gonna do something similar lol,_ the response finally came and Dream breathed a sigh of relief. He was definitely just overthinking, there was nothing wrong with him and George, he was just being stupid. 

He re-opened Twitter, typing out a tweet that read, _move over phan and crankiplier, there’s a new ship in town,_ and then immediately turned off his notifications for Twitter. 

_You’re evil,_ came the next text from George, and Dream laughed out loud at this.

_You like it,_ was his response, not even thinking twice about it as he walked into the kitchen to feed Patches and make some breakfast. He was tired and stressed so he just pulled out some butter and threw a piece of bread in the toaster, grabbing the cat food out of the pantry as he waited. As soon as the can opened, Patches came running out of whatever corned she had been nestled in and meowed loudly next to her bowl.

“Sheesh, you’re impatient,” he muttered as he placed her food down, giving her a rub behind the ears while she started eating. His toast popped out, just barely golden the way he liked it, and he buttered it before taking his first bite. 

As soon as he did, his phone buzzed. It was a text from George, reading, _maybe i do. You hopping on sapnap’s stream? He’s obsessed with this treehouse of his._

“Shit,” Dream cursed to himself as he remembered Sapnap saying they were going to finish the treehouse on stream today. He didn’t know if he could handle it considering he could already imagine the Twitter storm happening right now and he and George being on stream today would only make it worse. Still, he told Sapnap he would help him and he intended to follow through on that, internal debates aside. He really had to keep this thing with George under control. It wasn’t like he had a crush on him or anything, that was ridiculous. Why would he even think that? Still, the text “ _maybe I do”_ was on a loop in his head like a broken record. This came out of nowhere, so surely it would leave him alone just as quickly. He could handle a stream. He could _so_ do this. Grabbing a plate for his toast, he walked back into his room and powered up his computer. He could do this. He was a grown man who did not have a crush on his friend and he could stream with him as if Twitter was not currently in a frenzy about the two of them. 

_Yeah, yeah, joining the call rn,_ he texted back before he did exactly that. Checking Twitch, he saw that Sapnap had already started the stream so he had to be careful what he said. He pulled up Twitch on his phone and set it up next to his monitor so he could watch the chat. “Hello, sorry, I just woke up so if you hear me eating breakfast, mind your business.”

“Holy shit, your voice is deep in the morning,” George’s voice rang through the call and Dream thanked God his camera wasn’t on because then the stream would have seen him turn bright red. “Listen, guys, have we ever seen Dream and CORPSE in the same room together?”

“We played Among Us together, dipshit,” Dream teased as he got to work building the treehouse. “Also, hi, Sapnap.” 

“Oh, hey, Dream, I wasn’t sure you’d be joining,” Sapnap had been distracted talking to chat to notice Dream joining the call, “Okay, okay, are we ready to power through this? No matter how long it takes?” 

“Hell yeah,” Dream called. Honestly, he was glad they were just doing a building stream. He felt like everything he did for his own channel was just trying to kill the Ender Dragon with different mods with George and Sapnap. He didn’t mind this, but he liked just getting to chill out and build for a bit. Sapnap had even gone as far as to put the world on Peaceful mode while they built, which was something they never did. It was a nice change. 

While Dream was building, he felt his avatar take hit damage, turning around and seeing George’s avatar there while hearing a light snickering coming from the boy’s mic. “Dude! Uncalled for!”

“That’s what you get for comparing us to fucking _Phan,_ ” George laughed as the two of them tried to push each other off of the edge of the treehouse, but apparently Sapnap had put up a fence while they weren’t looking which was going to make it significantly harder. 

“Oh, _god,_ is that what you said Dream? I haven’t checked Twitter,” Sapnap joined in with a laugh as he started hitting both of them, “Are you _trying_ to start a war?” 

Dream just laughed at this as he finally broke away from the two of them and got back to building peacefully, “What?! It was _funny!_ George could learn a thing or two from me, I’m hilarious.” 

“Hey!” the boy exclaimed, sounding offended, “I think I’m hilarious.”

“Yeah, _you_ do, you’re alone in that,” Dream shot back with a light chuckle. He could handle this. The jokes and jabs were normal, it was the flirting he was trying to especially stay away from. If they didn’t flirt with each other, this stupid thing inside Dream’s head would disappear. _Maybe I do,_ trotted through his mind once more. He sighed. 

Sapnap was responding to something in chat, saying, “Dream, chat is arguing against you. They think George is funnier.”

“Top ten anime betrayals,” the boy responded with a laugh, “Tell your chat they’re no longer welcome in my streams.”

“You never stream!” George added, “That threat holds no promise, dimwit.”

“ _Name calling?_ So rude,” he scoffed, shaking his head as he bit back his laugh. He had to keep this going, the back and forth was all he could take. The second George crossed the line they were already tip-toeing, Dream’s mind was going to do a nosedive into a pit of overthinking. He couldn’t handle that while he was on stream. 

“Oh, sorry, was dimwit too much? Tell me what you prefer. I think you liked it when I called you _honey_ yesterday,” George responded and Dream resisted the urge to slam his head onto the desk in front of him. He couldn’t fault George for this, this was normal for them. Was it? Usually, they only fought on streams and in videos, so where was this coming from? Had this really come out of nowhere or was Dream just noticing it for the first time? He found himself wondering why he had butterflies in his stomach like a little school girl after a boy pulls her pigtails. This was too much. 

Then he realized he hadn’t responded. _Shit, that’s exactly what he wants,_ he thought to himself. He needed to come up with something. “Nah, I’ve always been more of a baby type. You’re close, though.”

Why the _fuck_ would he say that? He hated himself. He didn’t want George to push him off a cliff, but he just threw himself off like it was no big deal. 

“Sounds good, baby,” George shot back and Dream had to mute his mic for a moment. The _last thing_ he wanted to do was choke on stream for the second time in two days. He couldn’t give away that he was having any sort of reaction to this.

He sighed, regaining his composure before he unmuted and said, “Haha, very funny. Come on, let’s get this treehouse over with to appease Sapnap.”

And it was over. There, he had taken care of it. He could handle this. This was nothing. He didn’t have to think about the way his heart completely stopped when George called him baby. It was a joke, he needed to remind himself. It was a game they played and it was Dream’s turn now. He just had to figure out what kind of game they were _actually_ playing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promised Sydney a shout out so this is an Official Shout out to my friend (their ao3 is sapphicwritings if anyone wants to check them out even though they orphaned all their works rip) who let me talk their ear off at one am about Heat Waves and helped me come up with a plot and is my beta reader so thank u queen


	3. Happy?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> George is concerned. There's a slight chance Dream has a crush on George

_ You’ve been weird lately >:(  _ was the Snapchat message Dream received, stopping him from going to bed. The stream was long over and the sun had dipped below the horizon; It had to have been close to two in the morning for George. Yet, here he was texting Dream. The boy yawned, staring at the message for a moment, trying to think of a response. He absolutely had been weird lately, but George wasn't supposed to catch onto the fact. When Dream didn’t respond, his phone rang. 

He stared at the screen for a moment, wondering if he should answer it or not. He had a feeling that if he didn’t answer, there was a chance George would call again. He might as well just answer and get it over with. It wasn’t often George called him on something other than Discord, but if the situation arose, it wasn’t like it was something they avoided. Just as it was about to go to voicemail, he answered the phone.

“Yes?”

“Don’t yes me, you left me on opened,” came George’s voice with a light chuckle. Okay, so he wasn’t mad or overly worried, that was a good start. So he was just calling casually. Casually. As if that was something they did. Dream was unsure why he was contemplating this so much. They were  _ friends.  _ Friends occasionally make phone calls. It was nothing out of the ordinary. 

Dream scoffed, “How do you know I wasn’t about to respond?”

“Were you?” 

He hesitated before quietly saying “...no.” 

“Yeah, that’s what I thought!” the other boy exclaimed with a laugh, “So, now I’ve got you on the spot, you’ve been totally weird lately, what’s wrong?” 

He faltered. What  _ was  _ wrong? He didn’t have a crush on George, everything was perfectly normal. Super normal. He hadn’t been weird lately in the slightest. Okay, maybe he was being a  _ little _ weird, but he had been so careful not to give himself away and he wasn’t going to give up now. 

“Nothing!” his voice cracked like a twelve-year-old-boy as the lie slipped past his lips and he died a little inside. He cleared his throat and tried again, “Seriously, nothing’s wrong. I think you’re just going crazy.”

“Oh,  _ I’m  _ going crazy?” George responded and it sounded like a challenge, but there was also a chance Dream was imagining things. 

“Yes, you.” He tried to hold an air of certainty in his voice as he threw out the accusation, but George just laughed at him. The sound of George’s laugh pouring through the receiver was enough to make Dream’s heart flutter. This was getting ridiculous. “Flirting with me on stream and all that shit.”

“Flirting? Is that what that was?” George had to know what he was doing. There was no way he was unaware of the effect he had on Dream just by saying something as simple as  _ baby.  _ Curse Dream for being so painfully easy. “You just bite off what you can’t chew.” 

Dream scoffed at this, “Oh, please, you wouldn’t be able to handle it if I was  _ actually  _ flirting with you.” 

The line he walked was a dangerous one and he was painfully aware of this fact as he could hear his own bated breath awaiting George’s response. To call the feeling in his stomach “butterflies” seemed to be an understatement, considering this felt absolutely lethal. 

“Try me.” The words hung in the air for a moment; Dream swears his heart stopped. He had to put an end to this. 

“No, no, we’re not doing this,” he forced a light chuckle past his lips as he tried to act like this was nothing to him. It should be nothing to him. It was just George. Just George. “We’re not on stream, there’s no one to impress.”

“There’s me,” George spoke so painfully casually Dream couldn’t tell if he was serious or not and it was driving him insane. “C’mon, Dream, impress me.”

“I wouldn’t know how if I tried,” it came out as a light whisper, one more honest than Dream would have liked. He cleared his throat, trying his best to play it off, but he felt like George could see right through him. He needed to get out of his own head. 

“What was that?” George asked and Dream breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn’t heard. At least, he was acting like he hadn’t. 

Dream let go of the breath he was holding, trying to mask his relief as he spoke next, “I  _ said,  _ I wouldn’t even know how to start. Sheesh, fix your hearing, old man.”

“Who you calling old? I’m twenty-three!” the boy on the other end of the phone gasped, sounding offended but Dream had a feeling he wasn’t being serious. 

“Whatever, whatever,” he laughed it off as best he could, thinking he had avoided the situation. 

“I’m still waiting, Dream,” came George’s next remark.  _ Shit.  _ “Come  _ on,  _ give me your worst.” 

“Oh, you’d like that, wouldn’t you? Just another thing for you to make fun of me for,” Dream scoffed, trying his best to ignore the pounding of his heart against his ribcage. He wondered if George could feel it, too. 

George was quiet for a moment and Dream wondered where along the line of their conversation that he had screwed this up. When the other spoke again, his voice was calmer now, more controlled from the casual tone it was earlier. “I’m not making fun.” He was quiet once more before, “The cameras off, Dream. Let loose a little bit. It’s just me.” 

For what felt like the hundredth time that night, Dream’s heart stopped. George’s voice was wrapping itself around every nerve-ending in Dream’s body and he wasn’t sure how much longer he could handle it. This was going to devour him and he would gladly let it. Okay, so maybe he had a crush on George. Just a little one, though. No big deal. Right? Nothing had to change. So why did it feel like everything had? 

“Dream?” George asked, his voice quieter than before. Dream realized he never responded, but how could he? 

“I-I should go, it’s late here,” Dream panicked, the words leaving his mouth before he could really contemplate what he was saying. “Goodnight, George.”

“Goodnight, Dream,” the boy complied, which Dream was thankful for as he hung up the call. He took a deep breath, knowing he had barely escaped with his life. He fell back on his bed, letting his phone get lost in the sheets as he threw an arm over his face, trying to comprehend what had just happened.  _ I’m not making fun.  _ So what  _ was  _ he trying to accomplish? Dream wished he had an answer, but every interaction with George as of late just left him with more questions. He felt his phone vibrate somewhere on his bed. He sighed, palming around for it. 

It was a text from George. Of  _ course _ it was a text from George.  _ Sorry i feel like i made you uncomfortable  _

Ugh, he had totally ruined things. He cursed to himself. Patches seemed to sense his distress as she hopped onto his bed and burrowed into his side. Looking at his phone, he wondered if he should just say screw it and see what happens. 

_ Not uncomfortable, quite the opposite really.  _ He didn’t need to add that last part, why did he add that? He had just willingly given himself away to George and it was too late to give it up. Even worse, he watched the text become highlighted meaning George had saved it. Why the  _ hell  _ did he save that? 

He watched the text bubble appear and disappear multiple times. It was driving him crazy. Just as he went to turn off his phone, it buzzed.  _ Define opposite.  _

Dream could turn back now. He could turn off his phone and go to bed, leaving the message to disappear. He was standing on the edge of a cliff and he could still turn around. That being said, he wasn’t sure he wanted to. Even so, he wasn’t sure he could jump off, either. So, he stood still. 

_ It’s not important.  _ It was. Of course, it was important. Dream had never been a liar, but desperate times. 

_ Okay okay, but you’re not helping your case for acting normal,  _ George’s response was instant this time and Dream didn’t know if that was better or worse. 

His fingers hovered over the keyboard of his phone for a moment, trying to think of something to say.  _ Oh whatever, i’ll survive _ .

_ I liked how flustered you got on the phone.  _ To think Dream had been about to go to bed and now George was pulling this like it was nothing. Like this was something they always did. 

_ Oh please, you say that as if you dont turn bright red the moment i call you hot.  _ Oh,  _ why  _ did he say that? Why did he have to say that? Dream was pretty sure there was someone else entirely controlling his hands because typing that out and deciding to hit send was definitely not a thought process of Dream’s. Yet there it was on the screen, clear as day. 

There was a long stretch of nothing, not even typing. Dream was starting to realize he had totally messed this up. Of course he had. His phone buzzed.  _ You dont mean that _

_ I do. Why? You blushing?  _

_ Why do you care?  _ The responses were lightning fast now and Dream couldn’t stop himself if he tried. 

_ Let me see. _ As it turns out, Dream was fully capable of jumping off that cliff. 

More silence from George was interrupted by the buzz of a picture coming through. Dream’s heart was banging against his ribcage, threatening to break through his chest if it went any faster. He clicked on the picture. It was George from halfway down his face, a light scattering of pink making its way across his pale cheeks. Looking at the rest of the picture, the loose neck of his t-shirt showed a similar covering down the edges of the boy’s neck. He resisted the urge to screenshot and replayed the picture instead. He couldn’t get enough of it if he tried.

_ Happy?  _ Came the text from George following the picture. Dream didn’t know how to respond, his mind was still flashing that image over and over. 

_ Yeah,  _ was what he settled on, contemplating the keyboard for a moment before sending another one,  _ eye for an eye?  _

_ Only if you want.  _ Dream did want. He thought for a moment before deciding to mirror George’s picture with the angle. It looked good enough, save for the fact that he was less pink than the other boy was. Patches’ ears also made an appearance, but it was really nothing more than a picture of his sharp jawline and the ends of his brunette hair. Nothing extraordinary. He watched as George screenshotted the picture. 

_ Like what you see?  _

_ How could I not?  _ Dream’s breath hitched when he read that and he knew he had to put a stop to this before it got out of hand, because knowing him, it  _ would  _ get out of hand. He needed to stop entertaining the idea that George might want him too. They were just messing around. They were  _ friends _ . Just friends.

_ I really should go to bed  _ He texted before it was too late,  _ goodnight george, for real this time _

_ Goodnight, dream.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sydney helped me come up w flirting so here's another shoutout for them hope y'all enjoyed the chapter


	4. Nothing's Wrong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream fakes sick and of course, George sees right through him.

The next morning, Dream gives up. He texts Sapnap that he can’t record or stream today, citing a fever and runny nose that he very much does not have. He feels bad lying to Sapnap, but he knew if he didn’t have a reason he would be coerced into streaming anyway and that just wasn’t something he could handle today. Maybe Dream was weak, but he didn’t care. He needed to keep his distance from George and he knew — especially after last night. He had been dangerously close to admitting something he wasn’t even sure he understood yet, but he knew it would ruin everything. He would rather have George as a friend than not have him at all. 

_ Feel better!!  _ The text from Sapnap came through and Dream breathed a sigh of relief, knowing he was in the clear. He could talk to Sapnap about this, he knew the boy would understand and want to be there for Dream, but he wasn’t even sure he could say the words out loud to himself, let alone someone else. This was something he had to deal with on his own for a little bit and that was fine. He was a grown man, fully capable of being in touch with his emotions. Admitting he had a crush on someone didn’t have to be the end of the world. Then again, it was  _ George.  _

Dream had always known he liked boys the same way he liked girls, that wasn’t the problem here. The problem here was the first boy Dream had genuine feelings for was one of his best friends. He was a walking cliche and he knew it. He stayed in bed for a while, Patches sitting on his chest while he rubbed her ears. After a while, she hopped off and he had a feeling she was probably hungry. 

Leaving his phone on the bed, he went to get her food. While she ate, he sat down next to her bowl, his back against his kitchen cabinets and tile underneath his legs, the cold from it seeping into his skin. He stayed there for a moment, closing his eyes as his head rested against the cabinet. It was peaceful, if only for a moment. 

When he returned to his bedroom, he noticed his phone lighting up against his dark sheets. Picking it up, he saw that there was a notification from Twitch that Sapnap was live  _ “Building my Treehouse Alone Because I was Abandoned.”  _ Dream laughed to himself before checking Twitter which was where most of his notifications were from. A bunch of people were asking why he wasn’t streaming with Sapnap and a few people were asking why George wasn’t there either. That  _ was  _ odd, Dream thought. Still, he didn’t want to pry. 

He decided he might as well quell their curiosity and tweet something, saying,  _ sorry guys, woke up pretty sick, but i should be able to stream/record again soon :)  _

Instantly, he was flooded with a few likes and replies hoping he feels better. That was good enough for now as he sat in front of his desktop, probably to play a few games by himself to keep his mind off things. Then, he opened Discord and saw George was online. So, he was online but wasn’t streaming with Sapnap. That was interesting. Maybe he was busy coding something for a new challenge, but usually, he told Dream about his ideas before he got started on anything. 

Deciding against his better judgment, he called George on Discord. The boy picked up, which Dream was thankful for. “Hey, you aren’t streaming?”

“You aren’t either,” came George’s response. Nothing seemed immediately off about his voice, but there was still a certain bite there that hadn’t been there before. Was George mad at him? Dream would understand, maybe he had crossed a line last night. Scratch that, he definitely had. “You don’t sound sick.”

Dream chuckled at this, “Yeah, I, uh, didn’t feel like it today and I know Sapnap wouldn’t have accepted that. What about you?”

“Same here,” George yawned, “Didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“Oh, yeah?” Dream teased, knowing he was the reason this had happened. Then again, George had already been up late before he called Dream so it wasn’t  _ entirely  _ his fault. Still, it was a fun thought to have. 

“Yeah, some twat was flirting with me,” came his response, and Dream had to bite back the smile threatening to break through. So George wasn’t mad at him, that was a plus. Still, that didn’t mean he was in the clear. 

Dream took a moment to respond, trying to think of something that wouldn’t give too much of himself away before he said, “Oh, please, that was hardly flirting. Besides, we’re friends, it’s normal.” 

He didn’t know why he said that, but hopefully it would dispel the nervous feeling in Dream’s stomach every time he heard George’s voice. Maybe if he called them friends enough out loud, this stupid crush would go away. It  _ had  _ to go away, it wasn’t like Dream could actually act on it. He didn’t want to mess things up with George. He  _ couldn’t _ mess things up with George.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m just messing with you,” George spoke casually, but there was something strained about his voice as if he were holding something back. Dream could tell he wasn’t telling the whole truth. Knowing this, he had to wonder what the boy was hiding from him. George never hid from him, not as long as they’d known each other. 

He bit his lip, letting the silence hang for a moment as he contemplated his options. Finally, his curiosity got the best of him, “What’s wrong?” 

“Hm?”

“You’re not telling me something, what’s wrong?” Dream asked again, his voice dead serious. He had a feeling he was toeing some invisible line into dangerous territory, but he had to know. “You can’t lie to me, you suck at it.”

“I am not a bad liar!” George exclaimed with a laugh, but his voice was higher than usual. When all you can ever go off of is someone’s voice, you learn how to tell when it changes and what that means. Dream was practically an expert. 

This was no exception as Dream leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms as he said in a singsong voice, “I’m waiting!”

“Nothing’s wrong,” George tried again, his voice closer to normal this time. If it was anyone else, Dream would have believed him, but this was  _ George.  _ He wasn’t going to give up as easily, he needed to get to the bottom of this.

“Listen,” he tried, not sure what he was going to say, “If I upset you last night or made you uncomfortable, you can just tell me. I was messing around, of course, but I understand if a line was crossed and I’d rather you just tell me so I don’t do it again instead of playing this little game where you convince me I haven’t done anything wrong. You can just tell me.”

George sighed, “That’s the thing! You haven’t done anything wrong,  _ I  _ was the one that was pressuring you and messing with you, but you still found a way to place the blame on yourself. You’re right. We were just messing around and it didn’t have to be a thing, but you went and did your overthinking and now you’re convinced something’s wrong. You need to get out of your own head, I promise you, nothing’s wrong.” 

He sat back for a moment, letting those words sink into him and weigh his shoulders down. Maybe George had a point -- he was probably right. George knew him better than anyone else and in times like this, that was infuriating. 

“This is not all in my head!” he exclaimed, his voice rising in volume against his will, “You’re clearly hiding something and I’d rather you just tell me what it is rather than leave me to keep guessing and worrying about upsetting you!”

“Me? You’re worried about upsetting  _ me?”  _ George fired back as if it was the most unbelievable thing in the world. His voice was louder too now. “I’ve been worried about  _ you  _ because you’ve been so unbelievably on edge lately, I feel like everything I say to you is going to ruin your mood or make you mad at me so if anything, I’d like to know what  _ your  _ problem is!” 

“ _ You!”  _ Dream shouted, the word slipping out of his mouth before he could even think about what he was saying. He regretted it the moment he said it, but it was too late to take it back now. “You’re my problem, George. I-I can’t tell you why, but just, I’m sorry, I’m sorry for fucking this up.” 

“I see,” George’s voice was quiet now and Dream could have cried. If he hadn’t crossed a line before, he certainly had now. 

“George—” Dream tried to fix things, not sure what to say, not sure what he  _ could  _ say, but there was already the sound of George disconnecting the call. Dream pulled his headset off, letting it hang around his neck as he muttered to himself, “Fuck, fuck, fuck. God damn it, Clay,  _ why  _ do you have to fuck everything up?” 

He watched as George’s status went offline. Dream should have just kept his mouth shut. He’d ruined everything. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shorter chapter today but i literally cant stop writing for this fic it's BAD
> 
> Also, I have a playlist for this story if you guys wanna check that out sorry if I mess up the link -- [ here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3V0nVac0ZcfI4Q1CQC8z5Z?si=uZjFUGCtRhCcBZruYGKi-w)


	5. I Like Him

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sapnap is somehow simultaneously a dad friend and a bully.

Waking up to his phone ringing, Dream almost had hope that it was George calling him. It wasn’t, of course, but it was nice to think that it would be for just a moment. He tried to apologize, but he was getting complete radio silence from George. It was hard enough to get in touch with someone who wanted to avoid you, let alone that someone living in another country. Dream sighed and absentmindedly declined the call, seeing that it was from Sapnap. He felt bad about it, but only a little bit. He was moping after all, he deserved some peace and quiet. Sapnap didn’t call him back. 

“Fuck,” Dream muttered to himself as he ran a hand through his hair, feeling grease beneath this fingertips. He took this as his sign to shower, trudging from his bedroom to the bathroom. He paused on his reflection, soaking in the messy brown hair that was getting just a bit too long and the dark circles under his eyes. This was nothing different from what he usually looked like, but it somehow seemed much worse than usual. He sighed and turned away from his reflection. 

Letting the warm water wash over him, he listened to his music on shuffle trying to get his mind off of things. He didn’t know how long he was in there, but his water bill would be sure to remind him at the end of the month. He was just about to get out, the tips of his fingers just beginning to prune, when that song George had sent him a few days ago began to play.  _ Breathe,  _ it was called. Dream couldn’t take this anymore, his hand reached for the handle to turn off the flow of warm water as he forced himself to step out of the shower and wrap himself in a towel.

The song was cut off by his phone ringing again. Dream gave up and answered it, “Hey.”

“Don’t ‘hey’ me, what the hell did you say to George?” Sapnap asked, sounding mildly irritated, “He’s been pissy all morning and I tried to stream with him and Bad, but people noticed something was off with him and kept asking why you weren’t with us. I said you were still sick, but people aren’t buying it. People are already talking about you and George fighting. Just tell me what happened so we can nip it in the bud and go back to normal.”

Dream slouched against the wall, still in his towel, pressing the phone against his ear as he sighed, “I don’t think there’s any going back to normal after this.”

“It’s  _ George,  _ of course, you guys can get over this, just talk to each other and you’ll work it out, you always do,” Sapnap’s voice was gentler this time as if he could hear how sad Dream was. Dream just thought he sounded pathetic, he wanted to cringe as his own voice reverberated back at him. 

“I said something mean, but I didn’t mean for it to be mean, in fact, it meant something else entirely.” Trying to explain what had happened without explaining his feelings for George was proving to be more difficult than he had hoped. He didn’t want to leave Sapnap out of the loop, but something about confessing his feelings for George out loud made it too real, too  _ tangible _ . He wasn’t sure he wanted that just yet. He wanted to pretend it would go away, pretend that this was easy, for just one more moment. 

Sapnap was quiet on the other end before a deep sigh came through the receiver, “Whatever you said couldn’t have been that bad. Especially if it wasn’t even meant to hurt him. Were you guys already fighting about something? What’s up? You know I hate being left out of this stuff, I worry about you guys.”

“I know, I know,” Dream groaned, knowing he was going to have to explain. When he said the words, they came out so light he wasn’t even sure Sapnap could have heard him, “I like him.” 

“You what? I didn’t hear you,” the other boy asked and Dream wanted to slam his head against the wall.  _ Why  _ did this have to be so hard? Sapnap was one of his best friends, this should be easy.

He trusted Sapnap with his life, he could trust him with this. It was decided. “I like him. I like Geroge as… as more than a friend. He kept asking me why I had been weird lately and what my problem was and he just… he pushed me too far and I told him that he was the problem.”

“Clay…” This was bad. Sapnap  _ never  _ called him Clay. Great, now he had fucked up two friendships in the span of two days. “I’m sorry, dude, that sucks. Did you apologize, at least?”

Oh. Sympathy. Okay, that was unexpected. He shouldn’t have underestimated Sapnap, but he had been throwing quite the pity party for himself, he expected everyone else to hate him as much as he hated himself right now. 

“I tried, but he hasn’t responded to me at all. I mean, I understand. It just sucks,” Dream sighed, still not bothering to get dressed. He didn’t feel like doing much of anything, he was just drained. He just wanted George. 

“Why don’t you tell him—”

“I am  _ not _ telling him the truth,” he cut him off before he could even finish his sentence, “Like, you do not understand how much I cannot do that. I think I would probably just combust if I even tried to get the words out.” 

Sapnap laughed at this, which was an unexpected reaction to say the least. “Dude, listen, you can just play it off. You don’t have to admit anything. Just tell him you were in a mood and a build-up of other stuff going on led to you exploding on him.”

“I can’t even get him to talk to me, Sap.” Dream groaned, finally forcing himself to stand. He caught his reflection once more. His skin was flush with the heat of the shower and the steam in the bathroom, but he looked a little less hopeless than he had before. He pretended the shower was what did it.

He placed his phone on speaker and tossed it on his bed as he began to get dressed, throwing on a clean pair of sweatpants and white t-shirt. Something about fresh, clean clothes after feeling like shit was always comforting. 

“Do you need me to talk to him for you? I can tell him you’re like totally beating yourself up over it,” Sapnap offered and Dream groaned as he fell back on his bed. 

“I  _ am  _ totally beating myself up over it! I feel like shit for making him sad, that’s literally the last thing I wanted.” 

“Perfect!” Sapnap exclaimed, “Then I’ll tell him that, get him to call you, and then you guys can kiss and makeup. Well, not  _ exactly,  _ unless you wanna tell him the truth—”

Dream shook his head, shutting down the idea once more, “Dude, no, not happening. I am going to bottle this up until it goes away or until I die. Whatever comes first. No other way around it, I’m not ruining my friendship with George more than I already have.”

“What if it doesn’t—”

“Sapnap, please don’t let me put those ideas in my head, I mean it. George doesn’t feel anything for me, I know that for a fact and I don’t feel like ruining things between us and our group dynamic all because of a silly crush that could totally go away in a few days!” Dream’s voice was exasperated as he played with tendrils of his wet hair, sighing to himself as he stared up at his ceiling. He had glow-in-the-dark stars on there, something an adult probably shouldn’t buy for his grown-up bedroom, but they made him feel better. Plus, they looked cool. 

“I hate to break it to you, Dream, but this doesn’t sound like a go away in a couple of days sort of thing,” came Sapnap’s voice, sounding oddly serious, “I’m just surprised it took you this long to actually realize you had a crush on him.”

Dream sat straight up at this, exclaiming, “What is  _ that  _ supposed to mean?”

“Oh, is  _ George  _ gonna play today? Sorry, I have to record with  _ George!  _ Oh,  _ George,  _ you’re so funny and cute and—” 

“I do not sound like that! My voice is deeper,” Dream cut him off with a small whine. “There’s no way I’ve just had a crush on George this whole time and  _ not _ noticed. We’re just really good friends, that’s all!”

“Yeah, well, you have a big stupid crush on that ‘really good friend’ and I, for one, think it’s been brewing for a while,” Sapnap scoffed. “Anyway, I’ll talk to George for you. I need y’all to work this thing out because we kinda got shit to do and videos to record and I can’t do that if my two best friends are fighting. Jeez, I thought you guys fake-fighting was bad, this sucks.”

Dream gasped, “This sucks for  _ you?  _ How do you think I feel?” 

Of course, the other boy only laughed at this, “Dude, chill out. I’ll talk to George. Say hi to Patches for me.” 

“Are you leaving?”

“Yeah, dude, some of us aren’t in love with our best friends and actually need to get shit done. Not all of us have thirteen million subscribers to keep us paid,” the boy scoffed. 

“I’m not in lo—” Dream tried to argue, but it was cut off by Sapnap hanging up the phone. He gasped, muttering to himself, “I am  _ not _ in love with George. Patches, am I in love with George?”

The cat, who had just hopped up on his bed, did not respond. Dream sighed and threw his head back on the pillow. He decided to tweet, just so his followers knew he wasn’t dead. 

_ every time i ask my cat a question and she doesn’t reveal that she speaks english the whole time by answering it, i get a little bit more sad.  _ He threw his phone down after that, deciding to unplug as much as he can for a moment. Maybe he just needs some peace and quiet. He stares out his window at the dark spots on the sidewalk signaling a sprinkling becoming a summer downpour, he knows peace and quiet isn’t what he needs — he needs George and he knows it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i don't know what's wrong with me, i cannot stop writing for this story. i have like 20 unfinished stories on ao3 and wattpad combined, but i am ignoring literally all of them for this fic i cant stand myself


	6. I Could Never Replace You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream is in a slump. Until George calls.

Dream is officially in a slump, he decides. He wants to code something to get his mind off of everything with George, but he couldn’t think of a single video idea. George was always so much better at brainstorming weird plug-ins to make, but it wasn’t like Dream could just ask him for ideas now. He absentmindedly scrolled through his old videos, trying to think of ways to improve upon what he had already done or make it more extreme rather than come up with a completely new idea. He could always just do a new manhunt, his subscribers always ate up a good manhunt. He sighed, being in a creative slump sucked before, but now he had thirteen million people waiting for more content. It was overwhelming to think about and made him feel even worse about his current situation. Dream let his head hang back against his chair, staring up at the ceiling as he racked his brain for something, anything that could work for a video. Not for the first time that day, nothing came to mind. 

His phone rang, startling him out of his pity party as it incessantly vibrated against his desk. He groaned, not bothering to check the caller ID as he sent whoever was calling him to voicemail. It was probably just Sapnap checking in on him — he had been texting him to make sure he was okay pretty much all day. Dream appreciated it, but now he just wanted to be alone for a moment. Who was he kidding? When was he not alone? Well, at least he had Patches. She was off doing her own thing at the moment, but it was comforting to know the house wasn’t empty. 

The vibration started again as whoever had called before seemed to call back. Dream sighed and picked up the phone, pressing it to his ear and exclaiming in an angrier tone than he expected, “What?”

“Sorry, is— is this a bad time?” came George’s voice through the receiver. Dream almost dropped the phone as he ran a hand through his hair, not believing that the boy was actually reaching out to him. So, it seemed Sapnap  _ had _ put in a good word for Dream. He reminded himself to thank him later. 

“George!” he shouted before he could stop himself, scrambling over his words as he struggled to think of something to say, “No, no, not a bad time at all, sorry, I just— ah, today’s been rough. So, in a bit of a mood, sorry, I didn’t mean to yell at you.”

“Didn’t mean to yell at me just now or the other day? It seems to be… a trend with you lately,” George’s voice sounded sad when he said this and Dream wanted to punch himself in the face. He could handle it if George was angry with him, that was something he could take, but he couldn’t handle the fact that he had made the boy upset. Still, he had to reap what he had sown. Dream did this to himself. 

Dream sighed, his hand tight in his brunet locks, giving himself something solid to hold onto and something to do with his hands. He wouldn’t be surprised if he ripped his hair out with how tense he was. “Both, actually. Listen, George, I— I didn’t mean what I said. I just… I’ve been having a rough few days and I took it out on you and that wasn’t okay at all. There’s no excuse for how I treated you and I’m just… I’m really fucking sorry. I know that might not be enough, but I—”

“Dream, Dream, it’s okay,” George cut off his useless rambling, a small laugh falling past the boy’s lips. It was comforting to hear, but Dream still felt like shit for the way he made George feel. George had done nothing but be there for him, and Dream treated him like shit because of it. “We all have bad days, you’ve apologized and that’s all you can do. I just needed some time to kind of… I don’t know, process. But then Sapnap told me that you were… uh… how did he say it? Wallowing in your own sorrow? I think that was how he put it—”

“That bitch.” 

“—and I felt bad, so I wanted to let you know that I’m not mad at you,” George finished, “You’re under a lot of pressure right now, we all are. It’s gonna get to you at some point.” 

“Yeah, that’s for sure,” the boy groaned, letting go of his hair as he pulled his knees to his chest. He spoke before he could stop himself, “I missed your voice. I hate myself for making you sad.” 

George chuckled softly at this, “You can’t hate yourself, it’s  _ my  _ job to hate you, remember? Sheesh, first you yell at me and now you’re stealing my job.”

“You’re such an asshole,” Dream sighed, laughing as the words left his lips. George didn’t seem weirded out by his first comment, which was a relief. 

“Excuse you, I think I have the right to be a bit of an asshole right now,” the boy responded matter-of-factly, “You said some really rude stuff, I’m just making up for it.” 

Dream laughed at this, nodding to himself, “Okay, yeah, fair enough.”

He was just glad to be talking to George again. He didn’t realize how much he seemed to rely on the other boy until he had gone a day without speaking to him. It was ridiculous, really, Dream had never been an overly codependent person. He just… he really liked George. He thought back to what Sapnap said that morning about his feelings for George, or at least his connection to him, being fairly obvious for a while now. This wasn’t going away in a couple of days, Dream realized. A thought that was utterly terrifying to have. Dream couldn’t remember the last time he had real feelings for someone— he had passing crushes, he had hookups, but this was something entirely different. This was George. 

“Dream?” George asked after a moment and the boy realized he hadn’t really said anything. “You good?”

“Yeah, yeah, sorry, I was just thinking about some stuff,” he muttered, messing with a loose thread on his gray sweatpants absentmindedly. “I’m your best friend, right?”

“Of course, you are, nothing’s gonna change that,” George reassured, but Dream wasn’t sure if that reinforcement made him feel any better. He didn’t want to be friends with George anymore, but he was going to take what he got. “Why? You found a replacement for me already? It’ll save my phone bill some trouble, I suppose.”

“Shut up,” he mumbled, his voice soft, “I could never replace you.”

George was silent for a moment and Dream couldn’t help but wonder what the boy was thinking. He wondered what George looked like right now— if he was curled up in his chair just like Dream was, mirroring each other all the way across the sea. He wondered if George was laying in bed, a hand on his chest with his heartbeat meeting the tips of his fingertips. 

“I couldn’t replace you, either,” he finally said after a while, “You know I love you, Dream, right? I mean, I know we act all mean with each other on stream and shit, but you really are one of my best friends. I don’t think I’ve ever been closer with someone in my life.”

“I love you, too.” Dream responded with no hesitation, but he had a feeling he meant his a little differently than George did. He might not be in love with George, but that word was still heavier for him than it probably was for the other boy. Still, he could have this and pretend that it meant the same to George. He’d rather have George like this than not at all; something he was going to have to get used to. 

“No more real fighting, only fake stream fighting, I don’t like not talking to you,” George spoke after a moment and Dream could practically hear the smile in his voice. His heart fluttered at the thought of George’s smile and he felt like a stupid teenager again. 

“I don’t like not talking to you either,” Dream responded with a laugh, “I can’t think of literally a single video idea without you, I’m helpless.”

“I’m gonna tell your subscribers that I’m the ideal man and that you’re useless without me.” It was an empty threat, of course, and both of them laughed at it. “Hear me out, we do another round of me coding random shit to mess with you. It’s only fair because you were mean to me.”

Dream scoffed, “Dude, no, last time we did that you  _ removed _ shovels!” 

“When have we ever needed shovels?”

“I needed one then!” he fought back, fighting the laugh threatening to escape as he tried to remain serious, “You’ll code it so like… fuck, I don’t know so that it’ll rain lava  _ and _ mobs or something horrible. I know you could pull it off, too, because you’re evil.” 

“I’m not evil! I’m just  _ smart,  _ there’s a difference!” 

Just like that, it was as if nothing had ever happened. Dream was grateful they could go back to normal like nothing had happened, but his mind was still reeling over their conversations the last few days and he knew it wasn’t going to stop any time soon. He was just thankful to have George back as a friend— that was all he could ask for. 

“Oh, Dream, I forgot to ask, did you listen to the song I sent you a few days ago?” George broke the lull in conversation and Dream had almost forgotten about that stupid song.

“Yeah, it was a gay ass song to send me, by the way,” Dream played it off as if he hadn’t had an entire crisis over the fact that George sent him a love song. He heard the boy laugh over the phone.

“Oh, shut up! It’s not like I sent it to you saying some shit like ‘ _ here you go my love!’  _ It was because your dumbass choked on stream all because I called you  _ honey.  _ Utterly ridiculous,” George exclaimed, sounding only mildly irritated, but Dream could tell he was holding back a fit of laughter as he spoke. 

Dream scoffed at this, “I dunno, man, it was kinda gay.”

“You shouldn’t say that! It’s  _ offensive.” _

“Dude…” 

“I  _ know _ , but still!” George laughed. It was so, so good to have him back. 

“You’re weird,” Dream shook his head, “Hey, uh, it’s late and I’m pretty tired so I think I’m gonna go to bed, okay? I’m really glad that we worked things out.”

George quieted down, his voice gentler when he spoke next, “Yeah, yeah, me too. Goodnight. I’m gonna send you more love songs just to piss you off.”

“Do not!” he tried, but George had already hung up the phone. 

Dream laughed to himself as he stared at his phone screen, not surprised when the screen lit up with a text from George.  _ For you baby x  _ with a link to  _ Miss Missing You  _ by Fall Out Boy. Dream shook his head, trying to ignore the way he blushed when he read the text. He opened Spotify and created a private playlist entitled ‘Songs from Gogy’ with the first two songs on it— Breath and Miss Missing You. Maybe he was being stupid, but Dream wanted to pretend for just a moment that the love in those songs actually meant something and was more than just a joke. It was a comforting thought to have, even if it was false. Dream got out of his chair and plugged his headphones in as he laid down on his bed, letting those two songs play on a loop as he closed his eyes. Maybe one day this’ll all have been worth it. He hoped that day was sooner than he thought, but he wondered if it would even come at all. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who celebrate! This fic hit 10k words which is kinda cool because most of the time my chapters are all like 1200 words but this chapter today was 2000 so I hope y'all appreciate it lol!! also I forgot to add but check me out on [tumblr](https://andrewjminyvrd.tumblr.com/)!!


	7. Missin' Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things between George and Dream. Except they aren't.

Things were back to normal, which Dream was thankful for. They started appearing on each other’s streams again like it was nothing, things continuing with the storyline of the Dream SMP like there had never been a rift between the two of them. No one seemed to really notice since no one seemed to expect George or Dream to be the best of friends on stream anyway, but without even realizing it the two of them had cooled down with the flirting. It was for the best, Dream knew this. He was just glad he and George were okay. 

“Dream, if you grief my house, I’m killing you,” George was saying as they ran around destroying random buildings on the server. Teasingly, Dream mined one block out of the house, causing George to say, “I swear to God, no, actually do not, please. I worked so hard,  _ Dream!”  _

“So dramatic!” Dream teased as he put back the blocks he had destroyed. “I would  _ never.” _

“Yes, you would,” George shot back with a laugh, “See! Even chat agrees with me! Guys, tell Dream to stop being mean, he won’t listen to me.” 

Dream laughed, running a hand through his hair as he looked at George’s facecam on his phone. He wasn’t streaming currently, so he just looked at George’s chat, but his eyes kept drifting over to the boy. He was wearing a gray hoodie, something from his merch drop, it was nothing special, but Dream couldn’t take his eyes off of him. This was bad. This was very bad. 

“Dude, no, you’re my best friend, I wouldn’t do that,” Dream conceded with a sigh as he stepped away from the house. 

“Dream!” Sapnap exclaimed, “I thought  _ I  _ was your best friend! When were you gonna tell me? I talked you through a nervous breakdown for  _ second place?”  _

He gasped, “Sapnap! How dare you reveal my nervous breakdowns, dude, that’s why you’re  _ not _ number one, George you’re officially number one.”

“Was I not number one before? Oh, shit, sorry chat,” George asked before he started reading stuff off of the screen, “I mean yes, Dream is my mortal enemy, we hate each other. Sapnap, you’re number one, how could we forget?”

Dream laughed at this, the way George was trying to cover it up. He didn’t really mind if the subscribers knew he and George were actually friends, it probably should have been more obvious to them— especially lately. Dream and George were horrible liars and they were even worse at hating each other when half the time they were trying to get jabs against each other they just ended up laughing. 

“Guys, I have something to tell you,” Dream said, speaking mostly to the chat, “George and I literally don’t hate each other, y’all just took a joke and  _ ran  _ with it.” 

“Dream! We needed the drama for views!” George exclaimed with a laugh as he punched his in-game character. “Now what ploy are we gonna use to get people to watch our streams?”

“Your love story,” Sapnap intruded with a laugh. When both George and Dream hit him, he responded with, “What! Everyone loves enemies to lovers.”

Dream shook his head, wishing he could slam it against his desk.  _ Why _ would Sapnap say that? Maybe he was trying to help Dream out— introduce the idea as a joke so George wouldn’t question it. That was kind of smart, but his cheeks were still bright red. 

“I don’t know what enemies to lovers is, but I’m afraid to ask just judging by chat’s reaction to that, thanks a lot Sapnap,” George scoffed as he ran off to do something in game. They were really just messing around on stream today, so there wasn’t much purpose to their actions but Dream still liked just hanging out with them. “No, Dream and I are not dating, hate to break it to you guys.”

“Unless…” Dream added as a tease, trying to bite back the smile on his face as he watched chat go crazy with this. It was always fun to mess with them, especially since he and George never minded the shipping. It was fun to mess with, but it did suck a little bit now that he had actual feelings for George. Still, he couldn’t give away anything that would make it seem like something was wrong; he just wanted things to be back to normal. So, if he wanted that, he had to make an effort to actually act normal. He couldn’t disapprove of shippers now when he had already spoken for it in the past. He had unknowingly screwed himself over and he was mentally punching his past self in the face for that. 

“No!” the other boy laughed, but it broke Dream’s heart. He wondered if George was catching onto him and that’s why he was so fiercely denying anything right now. No, there’s no way. Dream had been too careful. Well, there  _ was _ that phone call and those pictures, but that didn’t mean anything. It was a  _ fluke _ — proven by the fact that nothing like that had happened since. It was a one-time thing and Dream really needed to stop thinking about it. 

Dream tried his best to play this off as if it wasn’t killing him softly, “Please, George, you couldn't handle me anyway. Missin’ out.” 

“Oh, yeah, because you’re just  _ so  _ sexy, Dream, what with your— what are you even wearing right now? I bet it’s something gross,” George teased.

“Uh, I’ve got gray sweatpants on,” Dream explained as he looked down at his attire, a knowing smile on his face as he finished his sentence, “And it’s hot as hell, so I’m not wearing a shirt.”

“Please stop having phone sex in front of me,” Sapnap mumbled, sounding exasperated.

George, however, seemed to choke not unlike the way Dream had a few days ago on stream when George flirted with him. Looking at his face cam, his cheeks were bright red and it was obvious. Dream, of course, was going to mess with him endlessly for this, “Aw, guys look, George is blushing. Guys, let’s all make fun of George because he can’t even handle the  _ idea _ of me being shirtless.” 

“I’m not blushing!” he argued, but it was useless, “Besides, I don’t believe you, I think you’re just messing with me.”

“I will literally send you a picture right now,” Dream spoke matter-of-factly, already opening Snapchat on his phone. Now that he realized he could totally mess with George, he was going to use this to his full advantage. 

“I want to die,” came Sapnap’s voice once more, but he was ignored by Dream and George.

George was more focused on what Dream had just said, responding with, “You know what? Yeah, I don’t believe you. Send me a picture, I dare you.”

“I’m too supernaturally hot it might break your phone,” Dream teased, watching as George’s cheeks went even redder and the chat went even crazier than it already was. He opened up Snapchat and took a photo, only from the mouth down, not giving George anything more than evidence because after all, that was all he asked for. He sent it, trying to hide how heavily he was breathing from nerves. Trying to act casual when your best friend you have a crush on is technically asking for shirtless pictures of you is an incredible feat and Dream is just surprised he pulled it off without cluing the chat into something out of the ordinary. Then again, nothing about this stream was ordinary considering Dream and George had just confirmed their friendship.

He clicked back onto Twitch just in time to see George open his picture and go dead silent. As soon as he opened it, the chat went absolutely crazy and he saw the word  _ ‘dreamnotfound’  _ probably a hundred times. Dream just laughed, watching George go bright red even more— something he wasn’t even sure was possible. Dream’s phone lit up with a Snapnap notification and he wondered what George had sent him before he saw—

_ Gogy took a screenshot!  _

Dream had half a mind to expose him on stream or roast George for screenshotting, but his mind was going absolutely crazy. Out of all the pictures George had chosen to screenshot, it was  _ that  _ one and he had done it on stream in front of thousands of people. Dream’s mind was utterly reeling as he watched George try and find something to carry on the stream. 

“I hate both of you,” Sapnap finally broke the silence which Dream was grateful for because he had absolutely no idea what to say. He had a feeling his skin was flushed as well, but he was just thankful he didn’t have a camera on him right now because he would give himself away in a heartbeat. 

George cleared his throat after a long moment of silence, “All right, just for that Dream, I’m gonna kill you and take all your stuff.”

“Dude!” Dream exclaimed with a laugh as George shot a flaming arrow at him and started attacking him relentlessly. He didn’t bother fighting back, figuring he would let George have the satisfaction considering he had just fully embarrassed him on stream. Finally, Dream died and lost his stuff, but he didn’t really care. “I told you guys, George wouldn’t be able to handle it and I was right! I feel like I should win something. George gimme a kiss.”

He ran towards his character, and George punched him, “I take it back, guys, we actually do hate each other and this is why— no, Dream, stop! Fine, fine, I’ll give you your stuff back, just take it!”

Dream laughed as he regained his stuff, sticking his tongue out at George even though he couldn’t see him. “You hear that guys? I’m too hot to handle.”

“Next time you guys are just gonna flirt on stream, don’t invite me,” Sapnap whined as he hit them both, “My eyes and ears could have gone without this.” 

Dream’s phone lit up with a text from Sapnap, reading,  _ what the fuck just happened  _

He snickered, trying not to give it away on stream,  _ i have no idea  _

“What are you guys giggling about? I feel left out, sheesh,” George interrupted, sounding offended. 

“Nothing!” Dream exclaimed, “Just, c’mon, let’s get back to the stream, we’re wasting time!”

“Okay, okay, whatever,” George sighed and carried on like normal. 

The rest of the stream went by with little difficulty and most people seemed to forget about the events at the beginning, but it was still running through Dream’s mind over and over again. He made a mental note to ask why George screenshotted later, but until then, he was going to keep running over a million ideas and reasons as to  _ why  _ he had done that. There was no reasonable explanation except for the idea that Dream had spent days convincing himself was never going to happen. This was far from a sure sign, but it gave him more hope than he should have. He wasn’t sure how much hope he could handle at this point or else he was going to go insane. Still, looking at George’s face cam as they streamed, he couldn’t help but bite his lip and imagine a world where George liked him back. Wouldn’t that be nice? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am once again promoting my [tumblr ](www.andrewjminyvrd.tumblr/com) feel free to ask me stuff about this fic!! also, if you haven't already, check out the [spotify playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3V0nVac0ZcfI4Q1CQC8z5Z)!!


	8. More Than Anything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream needs to watch his mouth.

_This one’s cool too!!_ Dream’s phone buzzed with a text from George and he already clicked on the link, adding it to his playlist that was slowly growing with song recommendations from George. This time it was _Yoko Ono_ by Moby Rich. Dream made a mental note to look at it later. Neither of them had acknowledged what happened on stream, but a decent amount of “Dream Team Twitter” sure had. The day after the stream, they were still trending along with about a million clips of George going dead silent on stream. There was also now an incredible amount of fanart of Dream shirtless, so that was fun. He liked any fanart he saw just because of how much effort went into drawing it, but this led to more tweets about how he kept liking Dreamnotfound fanart. It was a never-ending cycle, but he didn’t mind it all that much. If only the shippers knew how stupid close they were to the truth. 

“Dude,” George had called him, his Discord avatar outlined in green, “Please God, if you like one more piece of fanart, I think my mentions are going to crash my phone.” 

“What? I think it’s cool!” Dream exclaimed with a laugh, "Plus it’s fun to mess with them.” 

George laughed at this, “You’re such an asshole. You need to stop giving them hope or they’ll never leave us alone.”

Dream hesitated when he heard this, twirling the cord of his headphones nervously between his pale fingers. “Oh, sorry, does all the shipping stuff make you uncomfortable? I can tell people to knock it off if that’s what you want, no worries.”

“No, no, no, it’s fine,” the boy rushed to stop him, “It’s just… it’s uh, more than usual. It’s a little overwhelming, but I’m sure it’ll die down soon enough— we probably should stop fucking around on stream.”

“You’re the one who asked for a shirtless pic of me and then _screenshotted_ it—” the words slipped past his lips before he could stop them. They hadn’t mentioned the screenshotting and Dream had decided to never bring it up again, but apparently, his mouth had other ideas because now he brought it up. Great. Just great. The last thing he wanted to do was put George on the spot, but he had done exactly that. 

He couldn’t see George, but he wondered if he was blushing. Dream tried to picture how he thought George looked right now. He probably had his bottom lip between his teeth, a finger toying with the collar of his hoodie as his cheeks went red at the mention of him having been caught. His dark hair tousled by his headphones, maybe he was even running a hand through it similar to how Dream always played with his hair when he was nervous. 

“I, uh, er—” George scrambled for words, his voice unsure of himself as he was clearly struggling to think of something to say. Dream bit back a smile as he bit his nails absentmindedly, his elbow supported by the leg up he had on his chair. He almost wanted to see how long George would drag this out before he thought of a halfway decent excuse. 

Still, he felt bad leaving him hanging, so he spoke softly, “You don’t have to explain.”

“I hate when you sound like that,” George brought up out of nowhere, his voice lower than it was before. 

“Like what?” Dream asked, keeping his voice gentle to purposefully fuck with George. He would let himself have a little fun with this, he deserved it. Plus, George was practically handing himself over on a silver platter when he said things like that; it was a personal invitation for Dream to push him. And push him he would. 

“I don’t know, just… warm,” George’s voice was careful as if he was contemplating every word he said before it left his mouth, “It feels stupid to explain it. Just sometimes your voice just feels… comfortable. You sound like coming home.”

Dream’s heart stopped. If he were a smarter man he would hang up the call right now and pretend this conversation never happened, but he would never be that person. He wasn’t sure if this was flirting or a confession, but George’s words seeped into his skin like gasoline and he was happy enough to burn alive because of it. All he had to do was light a match. 

“George…” he wasn’t sure what he was going to say next, his mind had, for the most part, left the building, so his heart combined with a lack of impulse control was leading the conversation. “If only… if only you knew how much I don’t understand.”

“About what?”

“The things that mean everything,” Dream muttered, his fingertips pressed to his lips like he was trying to hide a secret, threatening to slip out at a moment’s notice. He wasn’t sure how secret it was now, something had changed in the air between them, but he would never be able to pinpoint when. “About you.”

“You don’t understand me?” George’s voice was a whisper now, filling Dream’s ears through his headphones in such a way that enveloped him wholly. 

Dream shook his head, mumbling, “No, I don’t.”

“Do you want to?” 

“More than anything,” Dream sighed. He leaned back in his chair, his hand navigating underneath his hoodie and resting on his stomach, the warm feeling of his skin buzzing beneath his fingertips. He wondered what it would feel like if it were George’s hands instead of his own— how warm it would be then. His heart was practically beating out of his chest, he wondered if it were to burst through if he could hand it to George. 

George was silent for a long moment and he began to wonder if he had screwed this whole thing up. Maybe he was misreading things, there was a chance he was. It was getting harder and harder these days to tell when he and George had crossed the line between friend-flirting and just straight-up flirting. The line was too blurred lately, but a boundary was a boundary. He began to wonder if George thought about him the way Dream did. 

When George didn’t respond, Dream whispered, “I want you.”

“Dream—”

“It’s okay,” he cut him off before he could hear anything he didn’t want to, “You don’t need to say anything, I just thought you should know. I’ve never been good at keeping secrets from you, you know this. It didn’t… it didn’t feel fair to you.” 

George was quiet once more, his voice coming through after a moment with only a soft, “Clay. I-I don’t know what to say.” 

Dream _had_ fucked this all up. He had a feeling he would, but it was too late. The only option now was to let himself burn and he had to be okay with that. He lit his match, he made his decision. Now, he had to deal with the consequences. 

“I’m sorry,” he choked out, ending the call before George could stop him or say anything else. He stared at George’s icon until it was no longer green and he was offline. He stared at that screen for longer than he probably should have. The sun set behind the window and Patches scratched at his side, reminding him that she needed to eat. He sighed and stood, twisting his back until his bones cracked and groaned from the pressure. Shoving his hands in his sweatshirt pocket, he made his way out to the kitchen, grabbing her food and filling her bowl, sitting on his kitchen counter while she ate.

“Patches, I think I fucked up.” The cat did not respond. “Scratch that, I _know_ I fucked up.”

Sometimes, he really wished animals could talk. He could always call someone who _could_ talk, that person being Sapnap who could probably offer him consolation if not advice. Still, Dream didn’t really feel like talking to anyone. He just wanted to wallow in the death of his friendship with George. It would be okay, eventually, he wanted to hope. He would get used to being alone, wouldn’t he? Maybe he should get out of the house. 

He pulled out his phone, staring at the lack of texts. He wanted to text George more than anything, but he had already burned that bridge so he put his phone back in his pocket. Patches finished eating, hopping onto the counter and into Dream’s lap. Scratching behind her ears, he sighed. 

“You’ll never leave me, right?” Her response was to stare up at him with her big hazel eyes, but that was good enough for him. “Thanks, honey. At least I have you to count on.” 

His phone buzzed and for a moment, he thought it would be George, but it was just Sapnap. _dude, what did you say to george he’s freaking out texting me about you but he has managed to perfectly avoid telling me what actually happened_

Dream laughed at this a little bit, entertained by Sapnap’s unluckiness in getting trapped in the middle of all of this. He typed out his response and sent it before turning off his phone. _it doesn’t really matter now, what’s done is done._

His phone buzzed again and a second time, but he ignored it as he pats Patches gently to get her to hop off so he could step down, heading back towards his room. Dream just needed to reset; forget this day ever happened. Laying down on his bed, he wondered what would have happened if George told him he wanted him, too. A half-hearted smile spread across his face as he entertained the idea for just a moment, but when he came back to reality, he was still alone. He supposed he would have to get used to this. 

He shot up after a moment, an idea popping into his head. He changed his outfit into something more acceptable for going out in public and grabbed his keys. He was going to get George off of his mind if it was the last thing he did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the response to this fic has been kinda crazy but maybe I'm just too used to writing for dead fandoms but anyway feel free to tell ur friends abt this fic because the kudos and comments and validation is giving me too much serotonin xx


	9. No Promises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream's coping mechanisms are... less than ideal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: drinking, brief mention of vomitting.

Dream was not a reckless person. He thought things through, considered the consequences of his actions, and followed through with a plan that would benefit him. As he drove, this method went out the window. He needed to distance himself from work and George and social media as much as possible right now. So, he pulled into the parking lot of a club he had gone to once before when Sapnap visited a few months ago and they had gotten stir crazy. Dream wasn’t a club person, but somewhere where the music was too loud for him to hear his own thoughts was ideal. 

Sure enough, as he entered a remix of an ABBA song was blasting and people were crowding a dance floor underneath neon lights. This should be the  _ last  _ place to ever be reminded of George. He was safe here. He felt his phone buzz in his pocket, but he ignored it. He had almost left his phone at home, but decided against it for safety reasons and because he would probably need to call an Uber home considering he planned on getting absolutely shitfaced. He walked over to the bar where a woman was standing there with sharp eyeliner and tattoos lining her arms. 

Dream disregarded her terrifying appearance as he shouted over the music, “What do you recommend?”

“How drunk do you wanna get?” the bartender responded with a coy smile as she placed the glass down and leaned on the counter. She was attractive, Dream could notice that, but he was here to get drunk, not find a warm body. Still, he might try and get her number anyway just in case she changes her mind. He could figure it out later.

“I wanna forget who I am, ideally.” was Dream’s snarky response. The woman nodded and began making him a drink and he sat back, watching the crowd. He wished he had the gall to get up there and dance with everyone else, just let loose and forget about anything but the music, but he was too scared of making a fool out of himself. So, he settled for watching. Moments later, a drink was placed in front of him.

“Try that, tell me what ya think,” said the woman before she headed over to attend to another customer. He took a sip and immediately winced at how strong it was, but that was just what he needed. Maybe he would drink in moderation, he wasn’t much of a hard liquor person. Still, the end game was the same. That was what mattered. 

An hour or so later, Dream was absolutely gone. He had never been a great drinker and the strength of whatever the bartender mixed had him down for the count sooner than expected. As he slammed down another empty glass, the bartender raised an eyebrow at him.

“I’m calling you a cab or something, you’re done,” she instructed, holding out her hand for his phone. He sloppily unlocked it, thankful for face ID and handed it over. He watched as she pressed a few buttons and handed it back, motioning towards the back entrance. “Come on, I’m making sure you get in the right car. Jesus, you’re drunk.”

Dream silently followed, his mind about a million miles away. Every noise was fuzzy and his eyes were having a hard time focusing on the woman in front of him, but she seemed nice enough. The cold air of the evening he was met with did little to sober him up as the woman helped sit him down on the curb before taking a seat next to him.

“So, who broke your heart?” she asked, lighting up a cigarette. 

“Those— those ‘ings are gross,” he mumbled.

“Yeah, okay, so is drinking yourself to death, so fuck off with you and your glass house,” the woman scoffed, smoke spilling out her lips. Her lips looked soft, coated in a deep red lipstick that looked nice with her dark hair. Dream could have kissed her, but something stopped him from leaning forward. Maybe it was the cigarette smoke.

“I told someone I liked them,” Dream whispered. It came out slurred, but the point was hopefully made. She seemed to understand well enough, “And, uh, Ion, I don’t think he likes me back.”

She laughed, “What makes you think that?”

“I dunno,” he shrugged, “He didn’t… he didn’t even  _ say  _ anything. He just… just sat there. I fucked it all up, I always do.”

“Dude, it’s not the end of the world.” It was harsh, something he didn’t expect from an otherwise kind woman. Then again, this was probably the most vulnerable he had been in a while. After all, here he was trusting his livelihood with a complete stranger. “Hearts break, friends don’t like each other back, feelings fade, shit happens. If he doesn’t like you, fuck ‘im. If you wanna stay friends with him, just be friends with him and hope it goes away. If it doesn’t go away, bury it until it does.”

Dream looked up at her with wide eyes, asking, “How did you get so wise?”

Tossing her cigarette to the side, she shook her head, a forlorn smile on her face, “I was the bridesmaid in the love of my life’s wedding, you can trust me.”

“I don’t even know your name.”

“Delilah,” she held out her hand and Dream very sloppily shook it. She smiled and nodded to the car pulling up, “Come on, man, let’s get you home. Hey—” she turned to the driver, “—don’t murder him, he seems nice.”

Dream laughed half-heartedly at this as he stumbled his way into the backseat, taking about fourteen tries to buckle his seatbelt before the woman closed the door. Fumbling with his phone, he hit his recent calls and found Sapnap, pressing the call button.

“Dream? Isn’t it like one in the morning for you?” Sapnap’s tired voice came through the receiver and Dream smiled.

“Hi!” he exclaimed, his voice overly cheery at the sound of his friend’s voice, “It’s— it’s late, yup.”

He heard Sapnap sigh, “Are you drunk?”

“Very much so, how did you know?”

“What’s wrong?”

“I told George,” he whispered this, wanting to keep it a secret from the world around him. It felt wrong to say it out loud. “I told him and I ruined everything. Like, genuinely, it’s so fucked.”

Sapnap was quiet for a moment and Dream wondered if he had just woken up, “Dude, listen, going out and getting wasted isn’t going to solve your problems. Even if you fucked things up with George, which you didn’t and you would know that if you picked up your goddamn phone. Please tell me you’re at least safe.”

“Um, yeah,” Dream mumbled, “Like, I’m in an Uber, I’m  _ pretty  _ sure, but uh, I’m almost home. Aw, fuck, ‘m gonna have to pick up my car. Ugh.” 

“Jesus, dude.” he heard Sapnap curse and he felt bad for ruining his night. He was probably peacefully sleeping and Dream had to go ruin it like he did everything else. “When you get home, just drink a fuck ton of water and get some sleep, I swear to God. Maybe try texting George back in the morning. You’re being an idiot, Clay.”

“I know,” he sighed, letting his head fall against the cool glass of the car window. They pulled up outside of his house and he pulled what little cash he had in the wallet to tip the driver for dealing with him drunk and panicking in the backseat before he stumbled across the sidewalk. He held the phone between his shoulder and ear as messily as he could while fumbling with his keys for far longer than he should, but in his defense, the world was spinning. “I’m home. Uh, I think I’m gonna go pass out. Might puke first.”

The boy on the other line scoffed, saying, “Okay, you go do that, bud. I’ll talk to you in the morning, okay? Don’t forget to lock your front door.”

“Right,” he mumbled as he turned around and locked the front door behind him. “I miss you, Nick.”

“We should visit again soon, you’ve been worrying me lately,” Sapnap’s voice was tired, weary from dealing with his drunk friend. Dream couldn’t blame him. “Goodnight, Dream, please don’t do anything else stupid.”  
“No promises, night,” he muttered as he hung up the phone, throwing it on his bed as he stumbled into his bathroom, his head going straight for the toilet to empty his guts. He wiped his mouth with a grimace as he flushed, going for the sink to put his head straight underneath the faucet. Now was not a time to bother with glasses. For just a moment, he sat on the tiled floor, letting his head lull to the side. The world around him was quiet, but the pounding in his head was driving him insane. He couldn’t handle this anymore. 

Pushing up off of the floor, he wiggled out of his jeans as best he could, grabbing the discarded sweats from earlier in the night. He must be sobering up slightly because his movements felt less like he was wading through a bog, now only mildly sluggish. He pulled off his shirt, his back and chest shining with sweat as he fell onto his bed, face-first into the pillow. He moved onto his side, remembering something along the lines of choking on your own vomit and  _ not _ wanting that to happen to him. Patches had realized he was home and jumped onto his bed, sniffing him a bit before jumping down and curling up in her own bed where she liked to sleep. He smiled at her because she looked adorable when she was all content like that. God, he needed to go to sleep. His brain felt heavy, his vision still fuzzy and slow as his eyes shifted around his dark room. 

He thought back to what Sapnap said, about him not fucking things up with George. He wanted to believe him, but there was no chance he hadn’t ruined everything. Still, it was something he would deal with in the morning. Right now, he was going to let his mind go blank. He was at peace, even if it was only temporary. It was better than nothing, he supposed. He  _ also  _ remembered Sapnap saying they should visit soon. Hm, Dream could work with that. As he fell asleep, he formed a plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> including this chapter along with chapters eight and ten i binge wrote three chapters in one day you're welcome bbys


	10. Who Does That?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream lets himself spiral just a little bit longer.

Morning came— which for Dream was around one in the afternoon— as he opened his eyes to the sunlight streaming into his room. He felt around for his phone, finding it underneath his stomach and very much dead since he forgot to plug it in last night. He groaned and plugged it in before stumbling into the kitchen to find Tylenol and a glass of water. He stood in the kitchen, chugging water for an immeasurable amount of time and praying for his head to stop pounding. This really was reminding him why he never drank. The aftermath was never worth it, much like a lot of things. 

His mind flashed and he remembered the plan he made right before passing out. It was idiotic, but he was desperate and lonely so he might do it anyway. As he walked back into his room and pulled on a shirt, he decided he was going to do it anyway. Grabbing his phone the moment it hit ten percent as well as his keys and shoes, he made his way towards the bus stop, hoping to get close enough to the club so that he could just hoof it the rest of the way. Thankfully, he caught it. He could deal with the horror of Floridian public transportation for a few moments as long as he held his breath.

Jumping off a couple stops later, he checked street signs and his phone for directions before heading off in the same direction he had driven last night. The club was closed, of course, but his old ass Honda Civic was still sitting pretty in the parking lot. 

“Hey, baby,” he mumbled to the car as he got in, plugging in his phone as soon as he turned it on and began to drive home. He had to grab some stuff and he  _ definitely  _ needed to shower. 

Once he was home, he grabbed anything he might need for a couple of days on the road. He threw a few t-shirts and other clean clothes in the back of his car along with some bottles of water and random snacks from his pantry. He was freshly showered and about to leave when a distinct meow got his attention.

“Ugh, shit, all right, sorry, girl,” he squatted down to pet the cat, pulling out his phone and making a quick phone call. “Hey, mom? Can you do me a favor and watch Patches for a few days? Like, a week at most. C’mon, you know Drista misses her. Okay, okay, thanks, I’ll see you in a few.”

Three hours later, Patches is at his mom’s house in Miami and he’s on his way. His phone is tossed aside on his passenger seat as his playlist flows softly through his old car speakers. He very decidedly does not play George’s playlist because he is very decidedly not thinking about George. There are about a dozen unread messages from the boy, but Dream refuses to read them. He is not going to confront his problems, at least not today. Besides, he has two days of driving to power through— he has more important things to do than text back someone who doesn’t want him. 

He chugs an energy drink as he drives, wondering if he can get through the night. Knowing him and his hangover, he’ll probably have to stop in a motel at some point, but he ideally wants to get this done as soon as possible. 

At the first gas station stop, he finally checks his phone while he waits for the tank to fill up. He only reads the top text from George, it reads:  _ Dream, please call me, I’m serious.  _ Dream was not going to call him. He checks Twitter and most people are just wondering why he hasn’t been active in a couple days, so he doesn’t bother to curb their curiosity. He doesn’t owe anyone an explanation. Dream just needed to clear his head. Driving for two days straight is just the way to do that.

Five minutes later, he’s back on the road, staring straight ahead and ignoring everything around him. His phone buzzes, but he doesn’t check it. One glance over tells him it’s from George. At a halt in traffic, he can’t help it. It’s nothing but a song link.  _ Killer + The Sound  _ by Phoebe Bridgers. George sent him a fucking Phoebe Bridgers song. He adds it to the playlist but doesn’t respond. He doesn’t look at any of the other texts either. He keeps driving. Once traffic clears, he pushes his foot down on the gas pedal as hard as it can go, listening to his car sputter as it tries to keep it up.

He doesn’t know how much time has passed, but this is his second time looping through his playlist and the highway is illuminated mostly by moonlight. He must be somewhere in Georgia by now, maybe past that. He hasn’t been paying attention. His eyes are glued open as the energy drinks seep through his bones. 

Dream needs to stop. He knows he needs to stop, he’s getting low on gas again and he does not want to stop at a gas station in the middle of the night. With a sigh, he pulls off at the nearest exit with a motel sign by it and parks. 

The bored employee checks him in with no questions and he falls down on the shitty, probably bug-infested bed and passes out before he can think much of anything. It’s been a long day.

In the morning, he checks out and starts again. The sun has barely risen, but an early start guarantees he would reach his destination before sunset. He stopped for gas once more before he could probably push through the rest of his journey. He’s lost track of how many people have texted him. 

He makes one more stop before he stands outside of Sapnap’s apartment. He raises his hand to knock and hears shuffling before the door opens to reveal his best friend of the last eight years.

“Dream—”

“Hey so, I didn’t know what you liked, so I just got you a large Peanut Butter Chocolate Love, is that okay? That’s what I get usually, but I haven’t had Jamba Juice in like forever, but I felt rude showing up empty-handed. Anyway, here you go, can I come in?” he rushes out, not really registering the surprise on Sapnap’s face as the boy opens the door wider and lets him in. “Cool, thanks, um, sorry for showing up out of nowhere.”

“Did you  _ drive _ here?”

“Yes.”

“Does anyone know where you are?”

“My mom.”

“Okay,” Sapnap eyes him curiously before asking, “Are you… having a manic episode?”

Dream ponders this. “Uh, I don’t  _ think  _ so? I just needed to get away from things for a bit and uh, figured two days of driving and seeing you would do the trick. Is this okay? I—I can go home?”

Sapnap stops and stares at him for a moment, in awe of the fact that Dream is standing in his living room. “Dude, no, you just drove for two days. I’m not just gonna tell you to  _ go home.  _ Not to mention you brought me a fucking smoothie. Come here.”

He pulls Dream into a hug and it feels so unbelievably nice just to be held by someone who cares about him. Okay, maybe Dream was a  _ little _ sleep and touch-deprived, but he’s allowed to enjoy this. Besides, he missed Sapnap, they hadn’t seen each other in months. He was the only online friend of Dream’s who really knew what he looked like, so he was comforting in times of need. 

“I think I’m in distress,” Dream sighed as he slumped down on Sapnap’s couch and sipped his smoothie. “I’ve never felt like this before, dude. It was never this hard, like, in high school? I fucking  _ pulled _ dude, I’m talking total ladies man—”

“I don’t believe you because I knew you in high school, but yeah, sure.”

“Shut up,” Dream sighed, smiling softly, “But, like, this little crush just snowballed and now I’m like falling apart. I’m also so fucking exhausted—” 

Him speaking was interrupted by Sapnap slurping obnoxiously. When Dream glared at him, he mumbled, “Sorry, dude, I got a chunk of banana stuck in my straw. Don’t stop on my account.”

“ _Anyway_ ,” Dream continued, “I should have just kept my mouth shut. Like, it would have gone away—”

Sapnap was still slurping. At this point, he had taken the lid off completely and was trying to just drink it straight from the cup and abandon the straw altogether. “Dude, don’t stop on my account! I’m listening!”

Dream just shook his head, muttering, “Why did I come here? Jesus, okay, no, like it would have gone away, right? But no! I had to go and like flirt with him and shit, like I sent him a shirtless pic  _ on stream.  _ Who does that?”

“You,” Sapnap mumbled. “Sorry!” 

“I should have just left it alone, but now I feel… I don’t even know how I feel.” 

Sapnap sighed, his voice going serious, “Listen, Clay, here’s the deal. You had to know things were going to be different because it wasn’t just anyone, it was George. Things were more serious than you thought and there’s nothing wrong with that, pretty much everyone saw it coming,  _ especially  _ Twitter. They were right about Phan, you know, I’m telling you, they’re on some psychic shit—”

“Please, God, do not compare these two situations.”

“Whatever. There’s nothing wrong with admitting how you feel about George to him because that’s just, like, healthy communication. As long as you respect whatever he responds to it with, you’re chill. However, you not even listening to what he has to say and completely spiraling is not even kinda close to healthy. Why don’t you maybe take a look at what George was saying to you and then talk about fucking everything up, okay? But, like,  _ please _ take a shower first.”

“Dude!”

“This is my apartment, I can’t have you stinking up the place!” Sapnap laughed, “Bathroom’s down the hall, go before I have to plug my nose!” 

Dream laughed and shook his head, feeling like a weight had been lifted off of his chest. He really doesn’t know what he would do without Sapnap, but he’s glad he doesn’t have to find out anytime soon. He left his phone on the bathroom counter, knowing a shower would probably do him some good. He knew he couldn’t ignore his problems for much longer— Sapnap was right. Still, as he stood under the hot water, he could wait a few more minutes. That would have to be enough. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dream showing up halfway across the country at sapnap's apartment with only smoothies as a peace offering is my favorite part of this chapter


	11. Will Do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream stays in Texas. Oh, and he finally checks his phone.

Dream was actively refusing to check his phone — he’ll admit it. He had a few texts built up from George and a decent amount of missed calls from him, but he was very adamant about not checking them. Sapnap was giving him too much hope and he wanted to wait for it to dissipate before he glanced at them. The last thing he wanted to do was get his hopes up and then have them crushed the moment he looked at his messages from George.

Currently, he was laying on Sapnap’s bed and scrolling through Twitter while the other boy streamed. No one had mentioned that Dream was in Texas, but Dream had been notably absent from social media so people knew he was disappearing off to somewhere. He paused what he was doing to sit next to Sapnap for a while, watching him play. He kept trying to beat Minecraft in under forty minutes and it was probably about the third time he had to start over.

“I thought the clock wasn’t supposed to hit forty, did I read the title wrong?” Dream asked with a snicker, trying to distract the boy from his game. What was the point of him even  _ being  _ in Texas if he didn’t get to fuck with Sapnap while he streamed? 

“Shut the fuck up, Dream —” Sapnap spat before he gasped, realizing what he had said. 

Dream clapped his hand over his mouth, watching as the chat instantly began to fire off so quickly he couldn’t understand a single thing being said other than the universal question “Is Dream there?”

Sapnap cleared his throat, sputtering as he tried to come up with a lie, “Uh, no, guys, Dream is not here —”

“Yes, I am!” Dream shouted, into the mic, hoping the stream could hear him as Sapnap tried to shove him off. He laughed, smiling genuinely for the first time in a couple days. He watched the chat go wild as he kept talking, “Sapnap and I moved in together because we’re lovers —”

“We did  _ not _ move in together, don’t tell them that!” Sapnap exclaimed as he shoved Dream off of him and away from the mic, “Dream and I are  _ not _ lovers, he’s just visiting Texas. That’s why he hasn’t been tweeting, I  _ know  _ that’s what you guys are thinking, the dumbass drove here. I’d be surprised if he slept the whole time.”

“I did! For like four hours!” he defended himself, but he knew the steam couldn’t hear him. Immediately, Dream’s Twitter mentions began to go crazy and he had to turn off notifications for the time being. He was sitting on the floor, just laughing. “I stayed in a Motel 6 for you, bro.”

Sapnap was laughing so hard he couldn’t even talk to his stream anymore, wheezing, “Dude, dude, you did that to yourself!”

“Okay, okay, fair enough, fair enough,” Dream sighed as he laid with his back against the leg of Sapnap’s desk, stretching his legs out as he began to attempt to scroll through his Twitter mentions. God, people were fast. He was pretty sure them being together was already trending which was… a lot to handle. He looked and saw a tweet from George saying  _ can’t believe dream and sapnap didn’t invite me.... Pain :(  _

Anyone following would assume George was joking, which he probably was about that part, but they would have no idea about what was going on behind the scenes. He wondered if George knew he was the reason Dream drove to Texas in the first place. He sighed, knowing it was time to check his texts. He clicked over to his messages and began to read through — starting from three days ago.

_ Dream, please let’s talk about this _

_ I don’t want this to be how we end  _

_ Is it so bizarre to think that I could ever want you, too? _

_ I’m gonna give you some space, since that’s what you’ve made clear to me that you want, but I want to talk about this when you’re ready  _

_ [song link]  _

There was a gap of about a day since the last text and it seemed like George was following through on giving Dream space which wasn’t surprising. He wasn’t one to pressure people into talking to him and Dream  _ had  _ made it fairly clear that he wasn’t in a talking mood. However, as Sapnap continued his stream and Dream let his head rest against the desk behind him, another text came through.

_ Did you drive to Texas because of me?  _ Ah, so he had figured it out. Of course, a spontaneous road trip seemed like an adverse reaction to an accidental love (love? like?) confession, but George knew Dream well enough to know that is exactly something he would do. For the most part, it had worked, until now. 

Dream stared at this phone, so much so that Sapnap seemed to notice his distress, telling his stream, “Hold on, hold on guys, I’m gonna mute myself for a sec — hey, dude, you good over there?”

He didn’t say much, just handing his phone over to Sapnap so he could see the texts, explaining, “I need to text him back, I know I do. I  _ want _ to, but I don’t even know what to say. I don’t know where to start.”

Sapnap looked through the texts for a moment before he handed the phone back, “Why not start with answering the last question? It’s easy, right? Just say yes. You  _ did  _ drive here because of him, so, tell him that. Then, let it go from there — okay, sorry, guys, I’m back, I’m back.”

Looking down at his phone, he figured Sapnap was right. Out of everything George had sent, that was the easiest to answer. So, he answered it. He shot back a simple one word answer and took a deep breath, waiting for the buzz of his phone. His heart was practically beating of his chest just from sending one word. Maybe this was affecting him more than he thought — scratch that, he was in  _ Texas  _ right now, this was definitely affecting him more than he thought it would. 

Moments later, his phone buzzed,  _ can I call you?  _

Dream looked up at Sapnap and pointed to his phone before standing up and going out into the living room, as far away from the stream as he could. Once he was alone, he called George. The line rang a couple of times and Dream almost wondered if George was going to send him to voicemail.

However, the call was answered, and not a moment later, “Dream.”

“George,” was all he could muster up, his hand running through his hair nervously as he tried to think of something —  _ anything  _ — to say. “Uh, shit, sorry, what did you want to talk about?”

“Um, I think you know,” George spoke after a moment, his mood unreadable from his tone, “Uh, you’re in Texas?”

“Yes.”

“Because of me?”

“Yes.” 

“Okay.”

Dream sighed, “In my defense, I drunk-called Sapnap the night before I left and he said we should visit soon so it was technically Sapnap’s idea, I just followed through sooner than he thought I would. I was kinda… freaking out for a while over…  _ things _ .”

“Things,” George repeated, “Yeah, I was…  _ also  _ freaking out over things. Um, I think there’s a few things I wanted to clarify. You want me that means…”

“As more than a friend, preferably,” Dream spit out before he could stop himself. Then again, when did he ever stop himself? “And you sent me a Phoebe Bridgers song. Like, a combination of two of her sad ass songs —”

“All her songs are sad.”

“You get my point,” Dream finished with a small chuckle, “Uh, we’re a bit… a bit of a mess right now, huh?”

George laughed and it was so, so good to hear that laugh again. He smiled just from that noise alone. “Yeah, yeah we are.”

“George…” Dream’s voice quieted as he bit his fingernails, dreading what he knew he had to say, “We can still be friends, right? I don’t… just because… you know how I feel, I don’t want that to fuck things up with us, okay? I’d rather us be friends than us be… well, whatever we’ve been for the last week. I mean, if you want me to leave you alone, I totally can, I’ll come up with something to tell people, I’ll respect whatever you want from me.”

“Dream, I don’t, I don’t want you to leave me alone, like, ever. You’re my best friend, I would never want to not have you in my life,” George spoke gently and Dream breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t know what he would do if his life didn’t have George in it. He didn’t want to have to find out either — this past week had been hell enough. 

“Okay, so… can we just be friends and like, pretend this didn’t happen?” That was pretty much the opposite of what Dream wanted, but George was 5,000 miles away and he didn’t love Dream the way Dream loved him so he was going to take what he could get. 

George was quiet for a moment and Dream almost thought he had hung up on him, but he finally spoke, saying, “Yeah, yeah, I’m okay with friends. But next time you’re gonna visit Sapnap, at  _ least  _ invite me.”

Dream breathed a sigh of relief. “Will do.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> writing dream and sapnap interacting irl is my favorite thing ever so i hope y'all enjoyed that bc i enjoyed writing it


	12. Cold Shower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream returns home.

With his emotional distress only somewhat behind him, it was time for Dream to drive back to Florida. He was slightly more stable this time, so it took him three days instead of two, but he didn’t mind. To pass the time, he had his phone on speaker calling George while he messed around on stream with a few other people from the SMP. 

“I can’t believe you have the audacity to call Dream on stream right as Sapnap and I complain about not having your number,” Quackity was complaining. As far as Dream knew they were building something since apparently George being crowned king had gotten to his head already, but Dream didn’t help by building the wall around L’Manburg. Still, it was all in good fun— he hoped. 

“I know, that’s so rude,” Sapnap added with a small laugh.

“I was literally just with you like two days ago, Sapnap, was I not enough for you?” Dream chuckled as he drove, getting closer and closer to his home by the moment. He had already picked up Patches from his mother’s house, so now he was in the home stretch. He was in a much better mood as he was heading home, hanging out with Sapnap would always do that for him— being best friends with someone for eight years will have that effect on you. 

“I just wanna be able to facetime George in the middle of the night, is that too much to ask?” Sapnap sighed as they continued to argue with George. It was entertaining to listen to, but Dream had to admit he had other things on his mind. He kept thinking about his phone call with George from a couple days ago. Why did they have to agree to be friends? Dream was such a coward— he couldn’t even admit to what he really wanted. Still, friends was better than nothing. It had to be. 

“Dream? You still there?” George asked after a moment, his voice soft like he had forgotten he was on stream.

Dream called to attention as he nodded to himself, “Yeah, yeah, just thinkin’ about stuff. I’ve been driving for a while, getting tired.” He threw in a yawn to make it believable for the stream, but he had a feeling George could see right through him.

“Hold on, I’m gonna take you off speaker— Sapnap, shut up!” George exclaimed with a laugh before speaking to just Dream, “You almost home?” 

“Yeah, yeah, this past week has just been a lot, I think I’m just gonna go home and pass out in my own bed for once. Sapnap’s couch is  _ not _ fun to sleep on for an extended period of time.”

George laughed at this and he could only imagine what the chat was saying, “Yeah, no, I still can’t believe you  _ drove  _ to Texas, you idiot.”

“In my defense, I didn’t know what else to do, I just didn’t want to be in an empty house anymore. Living alone can be daunting when you’re in emotional distress and have no real life friends,” he sighed, running a hand through his hair as he kept one hand on the wheel. He was turning into his neighborhood now, which he was utterly grateful for. The last three hours seemed to stretch on forever. 

“Emotional distress, huh?” George asked and the world seemed to melt away around them and it was just Dream and George. He wondered if George was muted or not, but he found himself not caring as much. “Chat’s asking what you were stressed about— guys, he’s clearly stressed from carrying the weight of this team since Sapnap and Quackity are too busy being  _ obsessed _ with me.”

Distantly, he heard their cries from the Discord call and he laughed to himself. He parked in his driveway, grabbing the stuff out of his backseat and pressing the phone between his ear and shoulder as he grabbed Patches’ carrier and went to unlock his front door. The house was just as he had left it, but he hadn’t expected any different. He let Patches out and she darted out of her carrier and went to one of the little spots she loved to settle in. Clearly, Dream was not the only one happy to be home. 

As he dropped his stuff on his floor and fell onto his back on his bed, feeling the ache of sitting up for so many hours bleed out of his muscles. He sighed and spoke into the phone, “I’m home, finally.”

“Oh, goodie,” George responded, speaking to the stream next, “Guys, Dream survived Texas! Yay!”

“You’re cute,” he mumbled before he could stop himself, but he would blame the exhaustion. He had half a mind to turn on George’s stream and see what he looked like right now, but his bed was so comfortable. Still, he  _ was _ curious. He could already picture George blushing. “Sorry.” 

“Dream!” he exclaimed and he could practically hear the blush in his voice— it wasn’t Dream’s intention, but it was nice to think about. Interactions like this seemed to mean so much more now that George knew. Dream had to be careful, but right now, he didn’t care anymore. “You’re lucky I took you off speaker.”

“What’s he saying?” he could hear Sapnap ask, but he knew George would never say something like that on stream. He could always tell Sapnap later, but part of him just wanted to keep this brief moment in time to himself. This was for him. Him and George. 

Dream was quiet for a moment, biting his lip as he absentmindedly thumbed with the waistline of his sweatpants (hey— he wasn’t going to drive for three days in  _ jeans).  _ As his fingertips brushed against his own skin, he wondered what George’s hands would feel like. He needed to stop thinking like this. Friends did  _ not _ think about each other like this. Then again, friends didn’t ache to know how it would feel to be held by each other. They didn’t ache to know what it would be like to trace over the lines of the other’s body with gentle hands. 

“Oh, my God,  _ Clay!  _ I’ve been talking to you,” George called him out of his trance by using his real name and he guessed he hadn’t been responding to ‘Dream,’ but he had kind of lost himself for a moment there. “You didn’t fall asleep on me, did you?”

“No, no, I’m here,” he groaned, rubbing his eyes in an attempt to pull himself out of his mood. Maybe he needed a cold shower. A cold,  _ cold _ shower. George saying his name like that was not helping. “Sorry.”

“I feel like you’re making your voice deeper on purpose and I think that’s unfair,” George remarked and Dream was really hoping he had muted his mic, but guessing by the shouts of Quackity and Sapnap in the background, he hadn’t. “Oh, chat’s mad, they wanna hear you. Guys, I can’t, Dream will take all the attention away from me and that’s  _ rude!  _ You guys don’t even know what he looks like and you… you  _ thirst  _ over him, sheesh.”

“Has that ever stopped you?”

“Dream!” 

He laughed into the phone, enjoying hearing the slight embarrassment in George’s voice. Still, he had to respect his own decision. “I’m  _ kidding.  _ Still, that reaction alone proves…”

“I’m hanging up on you!” George exclaimed, causing both of them to laugh, “Go take a nap or something instead of bothering me. Gosh, taking all the attention away from  _ my  _ stream. So rude.” 

“Whatever,” Dream chuckled to himself, “Bye, George.”

“Bye bye,” George muttered before the call ended. 

Dream laid there for a moment, his phone against his chest as he stared at the ceiling. He was in way too deep with George and he knew it. There was no way he was ever going to really be able to be friends with George, but he supposed he could get better at pretending. He wasn’t sure he even had a choice in that matter. He couldn’t even stop thinking about the way George said his  _ name.  _ This was getting ridiculous. Part of him wished these feelings would go away, but the other part of him was perfectly content to drown in them. He couldn’t even trust himself around George anymore, he didn’t know what would leave his mouth if his heart was in control.

His phone buzzed and he felt the vibration in his chest. It was a text from George reading,  _ don’t kill me, but i think you might like this one  _ along with a link, because of course George was going to send him a song right now. He hadn’t sent one since the Phoebe Bridgers song and Dream had spent a good chunk of his drive listening to that song on a loop, so he wondered how much worse it could get. He clicked on the link, seeing that the song was  _ A Little Death  _ by The Neighbourhood.

He scoffed, texting George back,  _ why are you sending me neighbourhood songs about sex? are you trying to get gayer and gayer as this goes on? _

_ duh. take a nap.  _

Dream just sighed, adding the song to his playlist and forcing himself to get up from his bed. Yeah, he was definitely going to need a cold shower. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fun fact i was originally going to have George send Dream Francis Forever by Mitski, but I changed it because... this chapter was less sad more yearning horniness so you're welcome


	13. Do You Trust Me?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream is trying to avoid George and failing miserably.

They didn’t talk about what Dream had shared with George the night before he drove to Texas. It seemed to hang heavy in the air every time they spoke alone, so Dream tried to avoid being alone with George as best he could. The last thing he wanted to do was risk their friendship and Dream wasn’t sure how much he could trust himself anymore. His feelings for George weren’t going away and that alone was a huge problem, but the way he couldn’t stop himself was a whole other one. So, he knew keeping the boy at arm’s length was the best solution at the end of the day. He hoped the distance was going unnoticed; George hadn’t mentioned it so he seemed to be in the clear. Dream just wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep this up. He wanted George so badly, but he knew he could never have him in the way that mattered. 

It was late. Tiredness had yet to creep up on him, so Dream was just laying in bed and scrolling through Twitter absentmindedly. He was thinking too much to fall asleep anyway, so he might as well give in and just stay up until he had no choice but to doze off. A notification popped up and it was nothing more than Karl responding to one of his tweets, but other than that his phone was barren and boring. He replied absentmindedly before going back to his scrolling. He had half a mind to text George, but he knew he shouldn’t. He needed to keep his promise to himself that he wouldn’t let this go further than it already had. 

He wondered if the universe had read his mind and decided it hated him because he got another notification, this time from George. It was a text reading  _ can i call you :p  _

Dream  _ could _ ignore it. It was late in Florida and George could always just assume Dream had gone to bed. Then he remembered he had just replied to Karl’s tweet like a dumbass. 

“Fuck,” he muttered to himself before tapping on George’s contact and hitting the call button. It barely rang twice before it picked up, “Hey, what’s up?” 

“Oh, I didn’t think you’d actually call if I’m being honest,” he could hear the genuine surprise in George’s voice and he wanted to be offended but then again he didn’t think he would actually call either. He wasn’t actively trying to avoid George, but he wasn’t sure how much more he could take. 

Dream forced out a little chuckle, trying to seem casual. Curious, he asked, “Why’s that?” 

“I dunno, you’ve been weird ever since you got back from Texas,” George spoke, sounding hesitant. “Like every time we talk you seem to go off in your own little world. It happened on stream the other day when you got back. Everyone kept asking me what you were saying and stuff, too. You’ve felt like you’re somewhere else.”

_ If only he knew that all I fucking do is think about him,  _ Dream thought to himself as he 5resisted the urge to groan in frustration. He guessed he hadn’t been as smooth as he thought he was because now George seemed to know something was up. This was the last thing he wanted, but he had dug his grave now. 

He realized he hadn’t answered and he was definitely proving George right so he stuttered out an answer, “Uh, yeah, aha, I just… I guess I’ve been thinking about a lot of stuff lately.”

“Like what?”  _ You.  _

“Nothing too important, just stressed about videos and streams and all that stuff. Tommy and I have this bit coming up for the SMP and I’m nervous about pulling it off, just mundane shit,” he explained and halfway through he realized that he really wasn’t lying. Among everything with George, he really had been stressed. Dipping for a few days to run away to Texas had left him with more work when he got back which definitely hadn’t helped. It was overwhelming sometimes. 

George was silent for a moment before he said, “You know, you don’t have to deal with all this alone. If it’s really just you being overwhelmed with work, you know we’re always happy to help you. I’ll always help you when you need it.”

“I know,” he whispered, twisting his fingers around the strings of his hoodie as he kept the phone pressed against his ear, staring up at his ceiling as if it could tell him what the right thing to say was. “It’s not just work stuff, there’s… there’s other stuff going on, too, but I’d rather not talk about it.” 

The other end of the line was quiet. Dream wondered if George had hung up, but pulling the phone away from his ear, he saw the call was still ongoing. If he concentrated, he could hear the other boy’s faint breathing through the phone. 

“George?”

“Is it… is it my fault?” George asked at the same time Dream called his name. He was taken aback by this question, but George kept going before he could argue, “Sorry, it’s probably selfish to assume that it’s about me, I’m sure there’s other stuff going on that you shouldn’t feel obligated to tell me about —”

“It’s you,” Dream couldn’t stop himself. Conversations like this were the exact reason he had been trying not to speak to George alone as much, but it was too late now. 

George responded immediately, a contrast to his previous long silence, “Tell me about it.”

“George, no, I don’t… I don’t wanna make you uncomfortable.”

“We’re friends, remember? Friends tell each other about their problems,” George sounded like he was out of breath, but it seemed like he was holding something back. Dream ached to know what George was thinking right now. 

He wanted to think of something to say that could possibly smooth the situation over. Divert it back to something that normal friends talked about — not friends where one of them was in love with the other.  _ Love.  _ That was a heavy word, one Dream didn’t want to worry about right now.

He sighed, abandoning reason, “You’re all I think about lately, it’s stupid. I hate myself for it, because you deserve a better friend. Everything I do feels selfish, even watching your streams. I watch the way you smile, you play with the collar of whatever hoodie you’re wearing. I love it when I say stupid shit and get to watch you blush. I hate myself for it. I hate myself for using you like this.”

“Clay —”

“I hate how much I want to kiss you.” 

He had half a mind to hang up right now. The silence was deafening, crawling into Dream’s bones and weighing him down as he wondered how much worse this could get. His room seemed to get darker as his vision focused only on the numbers ticking up on the screen as the call continued in silence. His finger hovered dangerously over the ‘end call’ button the longer George went without responding.

George’s voice stopped him, “What if I want to kiss you too?”

“You don’t know what you’re saying, you can’t, you can’t just say that,” Dream shook his head, sitting straight up as he ran a hand through his hair. His breathing was heavy, heat crawling up his neck and down into his chest. He felt like he was suffocating so he frantically pulled his sweatshirt off leaving him in just sweatpants, sitting in the darkness alone. “You don’t know what the thought of that does to me.”

“So tell me.”

“ _ George,”  _ Dream exclaims, sounding exasperated, “I don’t know what game you’re playing at, but I need you to cut it out. I’m not… I’m not gonna do this with you.”

“There’s no game.”

Dream scoffed, “I don’t believe you.” 

“Do you trust me?”

Dream knew the answer was yes. He trusted George more than anything, but this was too much. Either he was asleep and this was a dream or George was messing with him. George wasn’t this cruel, but Dream was sure he hadn’t fallen asleep. Either way, he knew this wasn’t happening. 

Finally, he whispered, “I trust you.” He hesitated, “but I can’t… I can’t trust those words.”

He made the split-second decision to hang up the phone, slamming it down on his bed as he took in the sudden silence. His breathing was ragged as he sat on his bed, shifting so his feet were hitting the floor just so he could feel something solid beneath him. One hand was pressed against his chest, feeling for his beating heart. His phone starting to ring, causing him to jump out of his skin. It buzzed against his sheets, George’s contact name flashing on his screen. Reaching for the phone, he declined the call, texting George,  _ I can’t do this. Not tonight.  _

George didn’t respond, but the calls stopped coming through and he breathed a sigh of relief, his mind reeling. “ _ What if I want to kiss you too?”  _ Those words ran in a loop in Dream’s mind as he sat in the cool darkness with his head in his hands. He was flush with something he could only describe as absolute desperation, but this wasn’t something he could let himself have. George had to be messing with him. There was no way that phone call just happened. His hand dropped from his chest to his lap, gripping his own thigh tightly. His mind was racing and it wasn’t calming down. 

With a deep sigh, he stood, grabbing random clothes as he headed into the bathroom. He played the playlist of songs he had accumulated from George, blasting it loud enough to try and drown out his thoughts — not caring if any of his neighbors complained. He needed to relax. He was too heated up, too feverish at the thought of George. He stepped under the burning water, finally giving in and letting himself drown in the thought of George. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Karl Jacobs youtube channel how we FEELING guys! also, yearning horniness strikes again. this chapter is unbeta'd so sorry if it's astronomically worse than the others


	14. Case in Point

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream gets a wake-up call in the form of Sapnap calling him an idiot. Like usual.

The words from the phone call the previous night continued to race through Dream’s mind. By the time he realized he should probably get some sleep, the sun was already on the horizon. He sighed, giving up on sleep entirely as he got up to feed Patches and make some food for himself. Patches twisted between his legs as she beat him to the kitchen, the boy shaking his head and scratching behind her ears affectionately as he got her breakfast ready. As he was making his own breakfast (cinnamon toast, because he was feeling lazy) he got a text from Sapnap. 

_ I was gonna play some jackbox on stream tonight, you in? _

_ Is george playing?  _ He felt almost childish for asking, but his hands were practically shaking at the mere thought of having to talk to George again. It was ridiculous really, but his brain was not in a place where logic and reason were its first instincts. He rubbed his eyes, trying to rub out the thoughts from his brain. It didn’t work. 

_ Yeah, why? I thought everything was back to normal with you two??  _ Came Sapnap’s response and Dream groaned, wanting to slam his head against the counter just so he could stop thinking for even a moment. Not bothering to respond to the text, he tapped Sapnap’s contact and pressed the call button.

“Dude, what’s up?” Sapnap asked, picking up right away, probably still having been on his phone from sending Dream the text. “Why’re you being weird about George again?”

“It’s his fault this time!” Dream exclaimed, “Kind of.”

So, he recalled the events of the phone call last night in an excruciating amount of detail including his inner monologue from the night, glad that Sapnap wasn’t interrupting his complete outpour of emotion and distress. He was glad he always had Sapnap and the boy knew that Dream would always return the favor if need be. By the time he was done explaining everything, one of his slices of toast was gone and he was out of breath. 

“I don’t know what the problem is,” Sapnap spoke after a long moment of silence following Dream’s explanation. 

“The  _ problem  _ is that George is clearly using the idea that I have feelings for him to his advantage and is using it against me!” Dream explains in awe that Sapnap isn’t understanding the clear dilemma here. He wishes he never even kind of confessed his feelings in the first place. If he hadn’t done that none of this would be happening and things between George and him could be completely normal. Right?

“Dream, I’m gonna be honest because you’re my best friend and I love you,” Sapnap prefaced and Dream genuinely feared whatever he had to say because that was just a little too sincere. “You’re being stupid. Tell me, do you think George could manipulate someone— let alone his  _ best friend _ — if he tried.”

“He’s a white man, we can’t trust him.”

“ _ You’re  _ a white man!” Sapnap laughed, “Dude, it just sounds like he told you he liked you too and you totally shut him down. Like, genuinely, if what you told me is exactly what he said, that was definitely him telling you he likes you. He said he wanted to kiss you, idiot.” 

Dream groaned, his second piece of toast also gone. “I don’t know. It doesn’t seem plausible.”

“I am going to kill you.”

“What?” he exclaimed, “George literally agreed to be friends with me, like he just wanted things to go back to normal, and then he goes and pulls this shit! It just doesn’t make sense to me at all. Like, why would he say he wants to be friends and then say stuff like that?”

Sapnap stays quiet for a moment, sighing deeply before he asks, “Dream, did you ever stop to think that maybe, just maybe, George only agreed to be friends because he didn’t want to make you uncomfortable? I mean, weren’t  _ you  _ the one who suggested staying friends in the first place?” 

“…Yes.”

“Case in point,” the younger responds, “You’re being stupid. George likes you, you like him, there’s no problem here.”

Dream scoffs, “There are multiple. Even if, and that’s an  _ if, _ this feeling was somehow mutual, he still lives in fucking England and there’s a whole  _ fanbase  _ to worry about—”

“Dude, hey, chill,” he interrupts him, his voice strikingly calm, “These are all things that can be worried about later. What matters right now is you and George, not everything in the way. You can deal with the distance, God knows you’ve got enough money to pay for a few flights, and all your fans already ship you guys anyway. All that matters right now is sorting out this gross miscommunication between you and George because one, I’m tired of being stuck in the middle of both of you trying to deal with this and two, it sucks seeing both of you so distressed when the solution is literally so obvious.”

He sighs, leaning against the counter with his phone pressed against his ear. His hand keeps a white-knuckled grip on the counter as his body is flooded with tension. “Could it… could it really be that obvious?” 

“It’s been that obvious,” Sapnap spoke reassuringly, “I know it’s been a while since you dated anyone, Dream, but the whole thing that George was saying? That’s typically referred to as flirting.” 

“Shut  _ up _ ,” Dream groaned, “I’ve really just been stupid this whole time, huh?”

“Yup.” He could practically hear the smile in Sapnap’s voice. There was no way this could be that easy, could it? This didn’t seem like a situation that could tie itself up with a neat, little bow. Even if his and George did have mutual feelings for each other, there were going to be a slew of problems that would follow them just because of their followings and other things. It would never just be  _ easy.  _ Would it?

Following his silence, Sapnap spoke, “Dude, I think you need to talk to George. Like, badly.” 

“I know,” Dream whispered, “Maybe I should come out, like, for real. People keep accusing me of queerbaiting with George and if things were to actually start happening, I don’t wanna be the one making us hide it from fans.” 

“That’s up to you, you know I’ll support whatever you do,” Sapnap said casually, “as long as you and George stop being pussies and actually  _ listen  _ when you confess your feelings for each other, I don’t care what you do.”

“Thanks, Sapnap,” he sighed, “This… this really helped.”

“Yeah, I know, I’m amazing,” the boy laughed, “Just stop being an idiot.”

Dream scoffed, a soft chuckle emitting from his lips, “Yeah, yeah, okay, bye.”

He hung up the phone and crossed his arms, leaning against the kitchen counter for a while. George hadn’t sent him anything since the night before and the silence from him was deafening. Then again, it wasn’t like Dream had exactly been reaching out either. He sighed and opened up Twitter, turning off his notifications preemptively. 

_ ik I’ve talked a lot about the qbaiting accusations in the past and i mentioned the lgbt+ members of the dream team. I’ve always been a private person as u know, but i figured it was about time that i tell you guys that im one of them. Hope u guys continue to support me :D _

Hovering over the send button, he sighed, throwing caution to the wind and hitting it. After a moment, he decided to add a follow-up tweet saying  _ (i’m the b, by the way)  _ and left it at that. He was glad that was over, but it felt more like a necessary evil rather than something that was relieving. Immediately, his mentions were flooded, but he turned his phone off and placed it on the counter, giving himself a moment to just breathe. 

His phone buzzed against the counter and he picked it up, seeing it was a text from George because of course, it was.  _ i’m proud of you, _ was all it said. He knew he should, but he didn’t respond. That was a problem he was going to deal with later. Right now, he just needed to relax. With a sigh, he decided to do something he hadn’t done in a while, he was going to cope in a healthy way. He grabbed headphones, put on some running shoes, and decided a jog would clear his mind. He would come back when he felt he was ready to face his problems. Yeah, that was… that was good enough for now. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> speedran this chapter before i had to go to work today so sorry if it sucks also this coming week is my finals week so if updates are spotty it's because I'm frantically trying to raise my grades, but once I'm on winter break I'll try to go back to daily updates okay chill cool don't forget to follow me on tumblr and the spotify playlist both of which are linked in earlier chapters I'm not gonna link them here because i have to get ready for workkkkk okay thank you


	15. I Know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream takes a big step and it actually maybe sorta works out.

Dream was back from his jog a few hours later. His head was nowhere near as clear as it should be, but his legs felt like they were about to collapse from under him so he decided it was time to go home. He was a sweaty mess by the time he returned and he finally checked his phone for the first time since he left. It was mainly Twitter notifications and his friends texting him their support, but nothing too crazy or heart-stopping. He actually felt fairly at peace. Huh, maybe the jog  _ had _ done something. Still, he had no idea what to do about George. He couldn’t go on not talking to him, he hated the silence, but he just… had no idea what to say. What do you say to your best friend that you’re in love with? Shit, there was that word again.  _ Love.  _ Of course, Dream loved George, they were best friends. But being  _ in _ love was a completely different animal. Even if George did have feelings for him, there was no way he was going to be in the same place emotionally as Dream. George couldn’t even tell him he loved him as a friend, there was no way he loved him the same way Dream did. Maybe that was what was holding him back. 

Running his hands down his face, he grabbed some clean clothes and headed into the bathroom. Looking in the mirror, his reflection stared back at him with exhaustion scribbled all across his face. His hair was a sweaty mop on top of his head and his cheeks were flush. Eh, he’d looked worse, but this wasn’t too great. 

As he stepped into the shower, he let himself stand and think for a moment. He entertained the idea that maybe George  _ did  _ have feelings for him (an unlikely story). The moments on stream played out in his mind, times George had flirted with him and he hardly noticed. His mind settled on the first time he had actually noticed the flirting which had stupidly led to him nearly choking. Was there a chance that he was just stupidly oblivious? It was possible. The only way to know would be to talk to George, but this didn’t feel like a conversation that should happen over a phone call or text messages. 

Maybe  _ that  _ was what was holding him back. The idea of George liking him when he hadn’t even seen his face or felt his touch seemed ludacris. What if George only  _ thought  _ he liked him until he saw his face and then he decided Dream wasn’t his type?

He finished with his shower and raced to his phone, texting Sapnap.  _ I think I need to show George what I look like.  _ He sent a follow-up with a bit more of an explanation,  _ just so I know that he won’t hate me… like, the actual me, you get it?? Does that make sense?? _

Sapnap’s responses were instant.  _ Dude I thought you died. But yeah, that makes sense kind of. So what are you gonna do? Facetime him and hope for the best? _

Dream groaned, texting back,  _ I have no fucking idea. I cant even bring myself to talk to him, let alone facetime him. _

_ Maybe take it slow then,  _ was Sapnap’s idea. 

He sighed. Take it slow. He could do that. He could totally do that. Right?  _ Please _ , when had he ever taken something slow or taken the time to think about things ever in his life? He was stuck in this mess specifically because he couldn’t take things slow. Even if he tried, his body was always one step ahead of his mind and that had certainly led to some trouble.

If he thought too much about this, he would ruin it. So, he elected to stop thinking. He threw on a black t-shirt and sweatpants, settling for taking a quick shot in the steamed-up bathroom mirror with his phone over his face. The top of his head almost met the frame of the mirror, a testament to his height, and his hair was almost black from the water, but it was ambiguous enough. He hovered over the keyboard for a moment as he tried to think of something to caption it so that it was any less awkward considering Dream hadn’t spoken to George since their phone call the previous night. Eventually, he decided to just forgo a caption altogether and send the picture by itself. Before he could overthink it too much (more than he already had), he sent it. He stared at his phone intently, waiting for it to go from delivered to opened. It had been delivered for no more than a minute before he saw the icon change and soon enough he had a chat message from George. 

_ What was that for?  _

_ You always tell me you don’t believe I’m 6’2, there’s proof.  _

_ I thought you were blond _

_ It’s gotten darker over the years, plus i just showered. _

It felt strangely casual considering how daunting their recent conversations had been. Maybe it was a good sign. He knew he didn’t have to feel so afraid, this  _ was _ George after all. Still, that didn’t keep his heart from racing.

_ What if you made your mirror lower just to trick me _

_ Oh my god i will literally stand next to my door _

_ You wouldnt  _

_ Try me, jfc  _

“God damn it,” Dream laughed to himself, heading into the kitchen to find his junk drawer. He rifled through it before pulling out a tape measure. He set up his phone on his desk across his room since he didn’t exactly have a tripod on hand. Switching the mode to hands-free, he pressed the timer and jogged back to the doorframe. “Okay, okay, see this—” he runs the tape measure along the length of the door, “My door is six feet tall. Short door, I know.” He steps closer to the camera to show where the tape measure stopped, fully aware of how utterly ridiculous this is. Then, he steps back and stands directly next to the door frame, showing that his head is just barely taller than the door, “Six fucking two. I told you!”

He ends the video and sends it before he can stop himself. His face is in that video and he is very much aware of the fact, but it’s not close enough for George to get a great look, just small glimpses. His heart is pounding, the sound of his blood pumping in his ears drowning out any other noise from the world around him. Dream is so busy trying not to freak out over the fact that George pretty much knows what he looks like now that he barely realizes that George has responded to him.

Opening the picture, he sees it’s a picture of George with his hand over his mouth and his cheeks a very distinct pink. The caption reads “ _ I DIDN’T THINK YOU WERE GONNA DO IT! THAT’S YOUR FACE!”  _

He’s about to respond when a chat message comes through, reading,  _ I demand more, you can’t just tease me with that I see you trying to act all casual I want a CLEAR SHOT _

Well, there’s not much else to tease him with now, he might as well just appease his wishes. There’s a smile on his face; George doesn’t hate him, at least, not yet. He does his best to take a picture of himself, but he’s never been good with camera angles due to the fact that he literally hates taking pictures of himself. He settles for a picture almost mirroring George’s pose, except his hand is only loosely over his mouth, his fingers hovering over his lips the way they do whenever he bites his nails, enough space between the fingers to see the smile underneath. He captions it “ _ happy now?”  _ and sends it before he can have second thoughts. 

The response is almost instant, a notification saying  _ Gogy took a screenshot!  _ Dream shakes his head, having seen this coming. The chat notification comes next,  _ yes omg.  _

_ good now you cant say i never do anything for you.  _ Dream falls back on his bed texting George, feeling strangely content. He knows this can’t go on forever and he’ll have to talk about his feelings eventually. 

This point is reiterated when George’s next text comes through and his heart gives a painful flutter at the words.  _ How come you never told me you were that attractive?  _

Dream stares at it for a long moment, trying to think of something to say. George found him attractive. George  _ saw his face  _ and  _ found him attractive.  _ If Dream wasn’t having a crisis before, he certainly was now. He needed to respond. No, he should definitely say something. Of all the times to leave George on read, this should not be one of them. 

He settles for the response that feels most comfortable,  _ probably because im not lol _

_ Oh don’t pull that shit you have to know you’re hot.  _ Dream is going to combust. This is it, this is the end of him. It’s totally over. God, he’s so far gone.

A text comes through, this time on messages instead of Snapchat. It’s still George, but this time with a song link. The message below the link is a simple  _ :D  _ and Dream scoffs before looking at the song title.  _ Pretty Boy  _ by the Neighbourhood. 

He laughs to himself, texting back,  _ I can’t stand you _

The response is immediate,  _ I know :) _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my favorite thing to do is text my beta reader asking what to do for the next chapter and then ignoring everything they say


	16. Just Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karl suggests they meet up in North Carolina, but Dream has some... reservations.

Few things had happened since Dream showed George his face. Really, he hadn’t expected anything monumental to change, but he did feel like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. It was nice, especially since George was one of the people he had been most fearful of when it came to showing his face. He didn’t know why, but it always seemed like there was so much pressure there, but now it was gone. So, there was a bright side to all of this, he supposes. Now, though, he wasn’t really sure where to go from here. He knew he needed to talk to George, but he couldn’t bring himself to say the words he knew needed to be said. Maybe he was being stupid, George probably  _ did  _ like him, at least in some capacity. To deny that now would just be ignorant, but Dream still couldn’t bring himself to take that step in the right direction. 

It’s when Karl suggests they visit North Carolina that things seem to move in the right direction. He makes a mental note to thank Karl later for that. 

“No, no, for real guys, I got that MrBeast money,” Karl says over stream, laughter spilling over his words, “Hear me out, like, I remove all the beds in the house so there’s just one bed and we all share.”

Sapnap is laughing at this, the credits for their current Jackbox game rolling on the screen still as the chat goes haywire at the mere mention of them hanging out, “Cuddle time with the boys? Let’s go. Dream and I cuddle all the time.”

“It was one time!” Dream laughed into the microphone, shaking his head to himself. Now that George knew what he looked like, the idea of flying out and doing a collaboration with his favorite people didn’t seem as terrifying. He didn’t care if  _ Karl  _ knew what he looked like, he only cared that George did. Well, now he did. Still, he had to keep an air of mystery, “I don’t know, Karl…”

“Dude, dude!” Karl exclaims, “No, it’ll be so good! I’m already gonna fly out Gogy, might as well bring the rest of you nimrods. Dream, Dream, dude, I will  _ buy _ you a mask, any mask you want, if you’ll come out with us.  _ Please.” _

Dream laughed, his cheeks warm at the focus of the conversation being turned onto him. He didn’t want to agree to anything publicly because if George was going, there was a small chance he would totally chicken out. Knowing him, it was probably a decently sized chance. He knew how he felt about George, but the idea of seeing him, of being able to touch him, was too much to bear. 

“I don’t know, I’ll—I’ll have to see,” he finally admits just to make them happy, but he knows there’s a slim chance he’s going to North Carolina. It’s barely a two-hour flight, but it seems impossible. Maybe by the time it comes around, he’ll be a different person, but Dream doubts that. 

The conversation carries on without his influence as he hears Karl ask, “Should we invite Big Q, too?” 

Dream tunes out from there, just trying to contemplate what he partially agreed to. He imagines a world where he follows through with it. He meets George in an airport in North Carolina. He steps off the plane, tired from an overseas flight, but he still lights up when he sees Dream standing there with Karl and Sapnap. He liked to imagine that George would run to him first, digging his head into the crook of his neck while Dream lets his hand hold the back of his head and tangle in his dark hair. He wonders if it would be soft or not. He also wonders how warm George would be underneath his hands. 

He isn’t sure when he tunes back into whatever Karl is saying, but he’s ending the stream, “All right, I think we’re gonna wrap it up there, guys! Everyone say bye, bye stream! Uh… Okay, I’m gonna have you guys raid Bad…” 

The stream ends, but no one hangs up the call yet as Sapnap asks, “Karl, dude, are you, like, serious about flying us all out there? What would we even do?” 

“Oh, I dunno, spend time with your friends, sheesh, Sapnap,” Dream retorts, trying to seem like he hadn’t just been totally consumed by a stupid daydream. He was going to blame the fact that it was currently one in the morning on his absentmindedness. No other reason. “But, like,  _ were  _ you serious?”

“Duh, like I said, I’m already flying George out sometime in the next few months, might as well bring everyone,” Karl spoke casually, the smile evident in his voice, “I mean, I gotta meet Sapnap before I marry him, so. Oh, should we get Quackity on the call? He might be asleep.”

George scoffs, “He never sleeps and he’s got the earliest time zone out of all of us. Dream, would you really come?”

“I don’t know, guys,” Dream sighs and he knows he’s gonna have to think of an excuse. He really doesn’t have an excuse to not go except for this thing with George. Still, George doesn’t seem to have any reservations about Dream going, so maybe he’s just being an idiot. Maybe this anxiety really is just all in his head. Scratch that, it definitely is. Still, being aware of that fact isn’t going to make this suddenly easier for him. He couldn’t stop overthinking if he tried. 

“Just think about it, don’t worry about making a decision now!” Karl exclaimed, “It would be neat to have everyone, but don’t feel any pressure, of course. That goes for all of you, it’s totally your decision. Anyway, I’m pretty beat so I think I’m gonna head out! Just try and let me know sooner or later so I can talk to Jimmy about arranging some stuff for y’all.”

Everyone agreed and bid their goodbyes to Karl. He logged off the call and Sapnap was the next to yawn and say, “I’m gonna head out, too. Goodnight, guys.”

“Night,” Dream mumbled, holding back his own yawn. Sapnap disconnected and now it was just him and George. “It’s late for you, isn’t it?”

“More like early,” George yawned, “It’s six in the morning. But I’ll probably just have an early night tonight and stream tomorrow. Hey, are you actually considering flying to Karl?”

Dream picks at his fingernails, not sure what to say. “Uh, I don’t know. I mean, it took me forever just to visit Sapnap and we’ve been friends since I was thirteen. You can see why I’m a little nervous, you know? Plus there’s the whole thing with like my face, so, like, if you guys did any collabs, it’s not like I could be in them.”

“You totally could, we’re not gonna leave you out,” the other boy scoffed, “You could always pull a Corpse and just sit out of frame and stick your hands in to give the fangirls something to clip. Or just pull a SwaggerSouls and wear a mask. It could totally work. That is, uh, unless there’s another reason you don’t want to go.” 

“What are you not asking?” Dream asks, knowing exactly what George is holding back. There’s something very clearly being left unsaid in the moment and they both know what it is. Still, Dream wants to hear it. 

“Do you not want to go because I’m going to be there?” George finally asks, his voice quiet and reserved. “I can always just not go, I’m sure they’d rather have you—”

“George,” he whispers, interrupting his statement before he can finish, “I want nothing more than to meet you, but I’m sure you can understand why I’m a little scared. There’s kind of a… giant elephant in the room with us.” 

He can hear George sigh and the call goes silent for a moment, but neither of them hang up. Finally, George says, “So, let’s talk about it, then.”

“I don’t know if I’m totally ready for that,” Dream says honestly. He isn’t ready to talk about it, he knows this. He has no idea what he’s really feeling and he has too many fears to be able to put it in a way that is still fair to George. He doesn’t want to put any unwanted pressure on him because of his own feelings. 

“Okay, can I say something then?” The question surprises Dream, wondering what George could possibly say in that moment to somehow make things better. “Two things, actually.”

Dream swallows the lump in his throat, allowing himself to force out a quick, “Okay.” 

“Okay, one, I would really love to get the opportunity to see you,” George says first, “Even if it means staying in North Carolina, blegh.”

“It can’t be  _ that  _ bad!” Dream chuckles softly, but not saying much as he allows George to continue. 

“And two, um, I don’t know, I’m really bad at stuff like this, but Dream, I just want you to know because from what Sapnap’s told me, this is something that’s kind of been driving you crazy so I wanted to make this clear.” Dream sucks in a breath at these words. Of  _ course, _ Sapnap would have said something to George. He makes a mental note to kill Sapnap later. “Dream, I’m not… I’m not super interested in being friends. Well,  _ just _ friends.”

“Uh, one sec,” Dream says, muting his microphone. Once he makes sure he’s muted, he yells, “ _ Holy shit!  _ Holy shit, holy shit, oh my  _ God.”  _ He turns his microphone back on once he regains his composure, “Uh, um, I… uh, I’m not really that interested in being just friends either.” 

“Great, so I’ll see you in North Carolina?” he can hear the reservation in George’s voice, but he doesn’t hesitate to add one more thing to try and convince Dream, “For me?”

“God damn it, George,” Dream mutters, “Yes, I’ll see you in North Carolina.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me finally adding karl to this story bc he's my favorite white boy and people ALWAYS leave him out anyway sorry for no chapter yesterday i had an eight page research paper due that i hadn't started yet lmaoo not to mention i had work so yesterday was busy busy but i got it all done so now y'all get a new chapter! yay!


	17. Don't Worry, Be Happy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream is a chronic overthinker, but that's what he has Sapnap for.

So, the plans were set. They had two months before Dream would be standing in an airport in North Carolina. He was trying not to freak out as he looked at his flight information; everything suddenly felt ten times more real than it had when they were just talking about it. It certainly didn’t help that he and George were still dancing around the questions they really wanted to ask. 

“You’re freaking out,” said Sapnap over the phone, his voice sounding tired. 

“I’m freaking out,” Dream confirmed with a nod as he stared down his computer screen. “Like, what if it sucks? What if we meet in person and everything is just awful and awkward and oh,  _ God.” _

Sapnap sighed, “Dude, you and George have been friends forever, it’s not gonna be awkward. Plus, you’re  _ you.  _ It’s impossible for you to be awkward because it deadass just doesn’t affect you. I mean, you showed up randomly at my house halfway across the country and handed me a smoothie like it was an everyday occurrence for us. Awkward doesn’t happen to you.”

Dream groaned, throwing his head back so he was looking up at the ceiling, his knees tucked into himself on his chair as he pressed his phone against his ear. “Yeah, but that’s you, that’s different. George and I have this weird  _ affair _ going on and I have no idea what any of it means, but I feel like we’re both holding out for the same fear.”

“Which is?”

“That it’s not gonna be the same in person,” he admits, his voice shaking, “Even if it’s somehow not awkward, there’s a chance we could just… fizzle out once we actually meet. So, I feel like neither of us wanna commit to anything until we know, you know?”

“Great, so why are you giving up before you even know?” the man points out, probably exhausted with how much relationship advice he has to give to his friends. “Like, there’s nothing wrong with not wanting to commit to anything when you’ve never met in real life before, like, I get that. But, like, here you are, two months before it’s even happening and you’re already closing yourself off and telling yourself it’s gonna be awful. Do you see the problem?”

He hesitated, knowing that Sapnap was right because of course, Sapnap was right. He always was. That was why he and Dream worked so well; they just balanced each other out. 

After a moment, he breathed a deep sigh before admitting, “Yeah, yes, I see the problem. I just… I don’t know. This is scary shit, dude. I’ve never… I’ve never had to deal with anything like this before, you know?”

“No, I get it,” the other boy spoke, “there’s nothing wrong with being nervous, Dream. You just can’t let the nerves stop you, you know?”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” he sighed, “Ugh, when did shit start getting so  _ real?  _ This was much easier when we just pretended to hate each other on stream and watched shitty movies on the server.”

“Everything’s easier when you ignore what’s really happening,” Sapnap said casually, “I think anyone who knew you guys could tell you were holding something back with each other. I’m just glad you finally admitted it instead of just pretending it didn’t exist.”

Dream scoffed, “I never  _ pretended _ it didn’t exist! I just genuinely didn’t know!”

“Yeah, and then George flirted with you once and you  _ melted,”  _ Sapnap laughed, clearly taking way too much joy from this. “Or, sorry, choked, I should say. Like, thousands of people heard you choke when George barely flirted with you and you just  _ didn’t know _ that it was gonna be a thing?”

“No!” he was aware of how ridiculous he sounded, but he didn’t care. He had always been a little oblivious when it came to romance, Sapnap should know this by now. Not to mention, when it was one of his best friends he had feelings for, he felt more obligated to ignore it. “Oh, God, I’m really gonna meet him, aren’t I?”

“Yup,” Sapnap responded, “and Karl just announced it on Twitter, so no backing out now.”

Dream pulled his phone away from his ear, seeing that Karl had, in fact, announced their meetup on Twitter. His mentions were flooded with excited fans happy to see them collaborating in real life and of course, a shit ton of tweets about a face reveal. He groaned and put the phone back against his ear. 

“People are already asking for face reveals again, this was a bad idea. How are we even gonna pull this off?” 

“People ask you for a face reveal literally every day and you still haven’t given in, you’ll be fine,” Sapnap sighed, “You’re way, way overthinking this, dude. Try not to think of it as, like, a thing for the fans. You’re just hanging with your boys for a week. No biggie!”

He scoffed, a smile quirking at the corners of his mouth, “Yeah,  _ no biggie.  _ Easy for you to say, you didn’t make not showing your face your brand when you decided to start Youtube.”

“And neither did you,” Sapnap’s voice was so assuring, Dream was glad he could talk to him about this stuff. He always seemed to know the right thing to say. “You made Minecraft your brand, speedrunning, being a huge asshole, but none of that has to stop when or if you ever show your face. Like, you know that, right?”

“Yeah, but—”

“Nope,” the other cut him off before he could barely get a word out, “No arguing with me, dude. You’re way overthinking this. Just chill and look forward to hanging out with your friends. The other stuff can be dealt with later. Maybe take a second and just relax, get off your phone and shit, try not to stress about things you know you already have control over.”

“Don’t worry, just be happy,” Dream mocked, but he knew Sapnap was right. He sighed, “Yeah, yeah, okay. I think I’m gonna go take a nap or something, maybe listen to some music and just… chill for a bit.”

“All right, all right, take care,” Sapnap bid him goodbye and they ended the call. 

Once the room was silent, Dream sighed, tossing his phone over on his bed. He saved the information for his flight before turning off his computer. It was late, so the room was dark with the only light in the room being from the sunset leaking in through the blinds. Summer was almost over and the nights were going to come sooner and sooner, but as the clock ticked past seven, Dream opened his blinds to watch the sun fade away. Maybe things would be okay with George and with the fans and the whole North Carolina thing. In fact, they probably  _ would _ be okay, but Dream could not get out of his stupid head.

With a sigh, he walked over to his bed, picking up his phone and texting George,  _ song?  _

_ Here you go :)  _ the response was instant, the song link being  _ Lay All Your Love On Me  _ by ABBA, but it was the Mamma Mia version because  _ of course,  _ George would send him the Mamma Mia version.

_ You’re ridiculous  _

_ You asked for a song! _

Dream just chuckled to himself as he put on his headphones and laid down on his bed, the hand on his chest tapping along to the beat of the music. Closing his eyes, he let his mind turn off. North Carolina would be totally fine. Maybe if he told himself that enough times, it would actually come true. It had to be enough. He didn’t know what he would do if it wasn’t. He sighed, opening his eyes to watch the sun slip below the horizon and his room become engulfed in darkness. With a slight smile, he looked up and saw his little glow-in-the-dark stars. He would be totally fine, he knew it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the shortest chapter by far pls don't hate me it's finals week and i am running on VERY little sleep


	18. Normal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One month away from North Carolina, things are more or less at a standstill for Dream and George.

One month. One month until Dream was standing in North Carolina, with Karl, Sapnap, Quackity, and most importantly, George. Strangely, he wasn’t worried about the fact that Karl and Alex would find out what he looked like, in fact, that was somehow the least stressful part of the whole ordeal. He was mainly worried about whatever the hell was happening between George and him. It still hadn’t quite hit him that in one month he would have George standing right in front of him. Frankly, he was choosing to ignore it. He had never claimed to be  _ good _ at coping with things.

He had just woken up a little bit ago, the early August sunrise peeking over the horizon. He had woken up freakishly early in a cold sweat from a dream he couldn’t remember. Knowing he wouldn’t have been able to fall back asleep, he settled for taking a shower and making himself some breakfast. He may not be a functioning adult, but he was getting good at masquerading as one. 

His phone started buzzing against the counter as he worked on flipping his eggs, the smell filling the kitchen and making him hungrier than he already was. He saw the caller ID was George, hovering over the answer button for a moment before deciding that avoiding George wasn’t going to solve anything and they  _ were _ still friends, after all. So, he answered it and put it on speaker.

“Hello?” he asked, trying not to break the yolk of his egg like his life depended on it. 

“You’re awake? Isn’t it like… six in the morning for you?” George asked, sounding surprised that Dream had actually answered. In his defense, Dream was  _ also  _ pretty surprised he answered, but George didn’t need to know that. 

“Trust me, I’m surprised, too, but yes, it’s like six,” Dream responded, “Don’t ask me why I’m awake, I couldn’t tell you. Anyway, what’s up?”

The subject shifted and Dream was glad as George got to the purpose of the phone call, which was relatively normal. “I finished coding the plug-in for the new video, I tested it by myself, but I wanted to know if you wanted to test it, too before we start recording.”

Things had more or less gone back to normal with George, which Dream wasn’t sure yet if he was thankful for that or not. There were no more weighted discussions about feelings or flirting, it was just Dream and George— like it used to be. It was… nice, maybe. However, there was still the overall heaviness of knowing they would be meeting before they knew it. Still, that wasn’t something Dream had to worry about right now. Right now, he had to worry about making sure his eggs were cooked properly. 

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll test it with you, just give me a few to eat breakfast and shit, and then I’ll hop on Discord,” Dream nodded, fully aware George couldn’t see him, but he did it anyway. 

“What are you making?” George asked, “I didn’t know you could cook.”

“I can cook enough for myself to not die, so nothing special,” Dream let out a small laugh, “I’m just making fried eggs and then I put them on top of toast and it’s simple, but it’s really good, like, trust me. I was gonna make something cooler, but I forgot to go grocery shopping this week, so I should probably get on that. There’s, like, no food in my house.” 

George laughed at this and it sounded like a melody. Dream had always loved George’s laugh— it was actually a pleasant noise unlike Dream’s own wheeze that was reminiscent of a tea kettle or a particularly angry sprinkler. “ _ Please _ get some food, we can’t have you starving to death before I meet you.”

“Never fear, I have a couple of packs of ramen in case of emergency,” Dream teased, finishing preparing his breakfast, “Okay, I gotta eat, so I’m gonna go, but I’ll text you when I’m hopping on the Discord, okay?”

“Sounds good, talk to you then,” George spoke before hanging up the call. Dream sighed, the silence in the house now overwhelming. As he ate alone at the kitchen counter, Patches hopped up to sniff his food and say hello to him.

“No, dude, this is mine,” he said out loud to the cat as he moved the plate away from her reach, “I fed you already, sheesh.” 

He scrolled through his phone absentmindedly while he ate, checking his mentions on Twitter. Someone asked,  _ is dream gonna do a face reveal when he meets up with karl? I think i’ll combust if he does.  _ It was met with a few replies about people not sure if they even wanted to know what he looked like— most people saying that even if he was doing it himself, it would still feel like a violation of his privacy. He chuckles at this, glad that his fans are (for the most part) respectful about the idea of a face reveal. It’s comforting, he supposes.

Deciding to respond, he tweets off his second account,  _ guys, when i do a face reveal, if im ugly we’re all just gonna pretend nothing happened, okay? cool  _

Right away his notifications are flooded with fans saying they’re not going to think he’s ugly or that he’s just under-hyping himself so people lower their expectations. The tweets make him laugh and he’s thankful people are mostly chill about it. He knows he’s probably not going to end up doing a public face reveal when he meets up with everyone, but there’s still a chance. In reality, he’s always kind of wanted to do it at some event like the Streamys or something special. Maybe it was selfish, but he just liked the idea of it. Plus, it’s always fun to mess with his fans.

Checking his notifications, he sees a reply from George pop up.  _ guys, he’s actually just the ugliest, i hate to break it to you _

_ dont be rude,  _ Dream replies, chuckling to himself as he adds the old GIF of Kim Kardashian hitting her sister with a purse. With that, he closes Twitter and texts George.

_ can’t believe you think i’m ugly _

_ oh yeah absolutely hideous,  _ the reply is instant, followed by another,  _ done with breakfast yet? _

Dream laughs at the first text, rinsing off his plate in the sink and electing to properly do his dishes later as he texts back,  _ yeah yeah, heading back to my computer now. msh, needy.  _

_ i am not needy we just have work to do!!  _ reads George’s response, which draws a chuckle from Dream’s lips. He closes his phone and heads back into his room, booting up his computer and Discord along with it. 

Placing his headphones over his ears, he hears George join the call, “We’re not getting on Minecraft until you apologize for calling me ugly.”

George laughs right away, “Oh, my God, it was a  _ joke _ ! You already know I think you’re hot.”

Dream hesitates, feeling warmth rush to his cheeks. With things being so normal with them, that had not been the response he was expecting. Still, he didn’t want to seem too taken aback by it, so he opted for a casual reply, saying, “I dunno, that doesn’t sound like an apology.”

“You’re ridiculous,” George exclaims, but Dream isn’t budging. “Ugh, I’m  _ sorry,  _ sheesh. So needy, Dream.”

“I am not!” he responds with a laugh as he boots up Minecraft. “I’m not gonna accept your apology if you’re gonna be rude about it.”

“I hate you.”

“You love me,” Dream slips out before he could stop himself, the call going dead silent. Before it can get more awkward (if that was even possible), he clears his throat and says, “All right, all right, let’s see if your coding sucks less than usual.”

“Asshole,” George mutters and just like that, things are normal again. Dream isn’t sure how much longer he can do this, but he has a feeling things will work themselves out soon. At least, that’s all he can hope for. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so here's the deal, one, go read [sapphicwritings's](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sapphicwritings) dnf fic I'm beta'ing it and it's fire so go check it out! two, this is probably gonna end around 25-30 chapters and this is chapter 18 so... we're close. That being said! i have a karlnap fic I'm planning on posting either once this is over or once i get closer to the final chapters so keep an eye for when i post that if u wanna check that out!!


	19. Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream flies to North Carolina.

Packing his bags, Dream still wasn’t sure if this was real or not. He had dropped Patches off at his mother’s earlier that day and was all set for the flight to North Carolina. Karl said he wasn’t sure how long everyone would be saying so to just pack for a couple of weeks. So, Dream shoved as much as he could fit into one suitcase and that was that. He couldn’t believe this was happening. Checking his watch, he saw he had to get to the airport soon or else he would probably be late. His plane was the last to leave since he lived closest to Karl, but he was supposed to arrive before George and Alex, but Sapnap would probably get there before him if he remembered the correct arrival times. He wished Patches was here to jump on him and calm his anxiety, but the house was empty. 

Taking a deep breath, he shoved the last of his stuff into the suitcase and put an insane amount of force into trying to zip it up. It was practically bursting at the seams, but it was zipped and that was what mattered. He sorted through his carry-on and made sure he had everything he needed for the flight, which really wasn’t much since the flight was barely two hours. 

_when are you leaving?_ The text came through from George, which was a surprise since he didn’t realize the boy would be able to text on the plane. 

_how are you even able to talk rn? also soon my uber is on the way to take me to the airport,_ he responded, sitting on his bed for a moment of calm before he left. As he awaited George’s next text, he went through the house to make sure every door and window was locked. He would leave his car in the driveway and the hall light on so hopefully no one would realize he wasn’t home, but he was also probably just paranoid. His neighborhood didn’t exactly have high rates of crime, but he needed something to occupy his mind other than the fact that he would be meeting George in a few hours so preparing for a break-in would have to do. 

_in flight wifi is a blessing,_ George finally messaged back, _karl really spared the big bucks for me clearly_

 _i think you mean jimmy lmao,_ he typed out the message and sent it before shoving it in his pocket. He grabbed his bag from the room, putting his earbuds in as he got the notification that his car was arriving. He said hello to the driver and she opened the trunk for him to put his bag in, but other than that the drive was silent. He texted George one more time, _leaving now, in case you were curious._

The sounds of George’s playlist filled his ears as he stared out the window like some angsty teenager in a coming-of-age movie. His heart was beating out of his chest as he got closer and closer to the airport. He wasn’t sure it had hit him yet. In a few hours, he would be standing next to Karl and Sapnap in an airport, waiting for George and Alex to arrive. He couldn’t believe it. He also couldn’t really believe he had agreed to this in the first place. 

The drive to the airport was short, thankfully, and Dream made sure to tip his driver and she was on her way. The process of checking his bags and going through airport security was brutally mundane as he kept checking his phone for texts from George or any of the other boys. He reminded himself to text Karl when he boarded, but other than that, there wasn’t much activity other than his Twitter notifications. He scrolled through them absentmindedly, checking the account that monitors his Spotify and seeing all the replies wondering why he went from listening to Fall Out Boy to the _Mamma Mia_ soundtrack. 

_Blame George,_ he thought to himself, biting back the small smile. That was what he liked about keeping the playlist from George private, it was such an odd mix of songs, but for Dream and George it made perfect sense. It felt like something for just the two of them.

His phone buzzed with a text from George, _lol sorry I took a nap, but here’s something for the plane ride I think you’ll like it._ Attached was the link to Willow by Taylor Swift. Dream smiled softly as he added it to the playlist and let the song fill his ears. His Twitter was refreshed and he saw another tweet from the Spotify account, citing the new addition. Sometimes it was scary how quick the account was, but he found it entertaining to see people try and figure out his music taste. 

_hope you got some good shut-eye, it’s a long flight for you lmao,_ Dream texted back, _how’s it feel being the only loser having to fly across the atlantic?_

 _oh fuck off,_ the response was instant and brought a smile to his face, _not all of us can live two hours away from karl smh_

His ears perked up as he heard the boarding call for his flight and he stood to get out his boarding pass and get on the plane. His hands were shaking as the woman checked his pass. He was cleared and he walked through to get onto the plane, his nerves at an all-time high. So, it was starting to feel real. He texted Karl that he would be boarding, texting George the same thing. He wouldn’t bother with the in-flight wifi since it was only a couple of hours, instead opting to listen to music and play the few games he had on his phone. 

Two hours passed like nothing and soon enough, the light indicating for everyone to put on their seatbelts for landing was flashing. Dream took a deep breath as he tried his best to mentally prepare himself for whatever was waiting for him when he stepped off the plane. Part of him was glad that George wasn’t going to be there right away, he already knew it would be overwhelming to see everyone _and_ George. He was just glad that Sapnap was going to be there first. Sapnap was the comfort he probably needed to get through this. 

Filing off the plane, he checked to see which baggage claim he would be at and texted Sapnap where he would be. His hands were shaking, so he put his phone away and shoved his hands in his pockets as he walked. He still hadn’t texted George back from before his flight, but that was probably for the best. He needed to calm his nerves right now, not make them worse. 

“There he is, yeah, that’s him,” he heard from behind him as he waited for his bag. As soon as he turned around, Sapnap was already grabbing him in a bear hug. It had only been a couple of months since they had seen each other last, but it felt like it had been forever. 

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Dream, sir,” Karl jokes, a shit-eating grin on his face as he held out a hand for a handshake but Dream just rolled his eyes and pulled the boy into a hug. “Oh, my God, guys, I just got a hug from Dream, _the_ Dream!”

“Fuck off,” Dream laughed as he picked his bag up off of the conveyor belt and asked, “When are the other two landing?”

“Uh, Alex just landed and George only has about thirty minutes left before his flight is supposed to get here,” Karl explained as he looked at his phone, “So, we’re kinda just chilling. Q says he’s gotta go to baggage claim ‘A,’ which one is this?”

“C,” Dream responds, looking up at the sign, “This way.” 

They get to the correct baggage claim right on time as there’s a short boy with black hair and that stupid beanie he’s always wearing looking for them. “ _Mis amigos!”_

Dream just laughs at the boy’s excitement as he runs over to them, giving them all hugs. He doesn’t even hesitate at the notion of seeing Dream’s face, he just pulls him into a hug. Dream really didn’t realize how much taller he was than all of them until he hugged them. He could probably rest his head on top of Alex’s if he tried.

“Am I the last one? No, where’s George?” Alex asked once the initial excitement subsided. Well, they were all teeming with excitement and nerves still, but they weren’t screaming and hugging each other anymore. Sapnap kept his arm around Dream’s shoulders as if he could tell how nervous he was. 

“Landing soon, if not now,” Karl responded, checking his phone one more time. “And then we got all the boys. Uh, we’ll go over sleeping arrangements and stuff when we get back to the house, but my housemates just moved out so like, there should be plenty of room for everyone. Oh, my _god_ , I’m so hyped to have everyone here. This is already so epic.”

Dream laughed, feeling pretty much at ease. No one seemed to grimace at the sight of his face, so that was already a plus. Maybe he wasn’t as anxious as he thought, this situation was perfectly survivable. Still, he hadn’t seen George yet and he already knew that would change everything. 

Karl’s phone buzzed and he told the group, “All right, he’s landed! Last of the boys, let’s _go!”_

The nerves returned the moment he said that. He had known George was only a few minutes away, but now he was on the ground in North Carolina— he and George were in the same place at the same time after everything that had happened while they were apart. It didn’t seem real. There was no way this was happening. 

They kept looking around for when George would meet them in baggage claim and Dream’s eyes attached to every single person that walked by, wanting to spot George before George spotted him. 

Then, he heard a voice behind him, “ _Dream.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i like to check the notes of ppl who bookmark this bc sometimes they're funny and i saw a note saying that dream was flying to California and I'm very curious as to how they reached that conclusion anyway i hope you guys liked the cliffhanger hehe


	20. Yeah, We Should

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream has George standing right in front of him and he has no idea what could be said.

_ “Dream.” _

Next thing he knows, he’s turning around to be met with a crushing hug. It’s different from the way the others hugged him, this much is obvious. He holds onto George like he never wants to let go because he fears once he does, the boy is going to disappear as if he wasn’t really there. He is here, though, in Dream’s arms. Dream didn’t realize how much taller he was until he could comfortably rest his head on top of George’s. Remembering the other people both in their group and in the crowded airport, they pull apart, but the moment is still there when George’s eyes meet his— no screen in between them. 

“Hi,” Dream mutters breathlessly. It’s lame and he knows it, but what else is there to be said? George doesn’t seem to mind the quiet response because he just smiles at the boy, his eyes crinkling around the edges in a way that is so much clearer than all the times Dream has seen it over Discord or Twitch. He turns away from Dream to say hello to everyone else, but Dream can’t take his eyes off of him. He turns for a moment to see Sapnap giving him a pointed look, but he brushes him off. He’s allowed to have this. 

“Okay, okay,” Karl speaks up after all the hugs and gushing is over, “Everyone’s got their bags and everything? Everyone good to head out?”

He’s met with nods and they head towards the exit of the airport, instantly being hit by the cold North Carolina winter. Being from Florida, this is definitely going to be a new experience. Well, everything about this is going to be a new experience.

“Is it everything you dreamed it’d be?” George asks teasingly as the two of them hang in the back of the group as they search the parking lot for Karl’s car. He’s interested to see how they’re all going to fit, he has a feeling it’ll end with either George or Alex in the middle backseat since they’re the smallest.

Dream shrugged, “Thought you’d be taller.”

“Asshole,” George just laughs at this, shoving him playfully. 

He sticks out his tongue in response to this, speaking once they reach the car, “Tallest gets shotgun, anyone under six feet you’re in the back.”

“Dude!” Sapnap groans, but listens anyway because it really is the most practical solution. He watches from the front seat as Alex is squeezed into the middle seat with a sigh of resignation. 

Karl giggles at this, taking a picture of his disdainful expression, saying, “Oh, I’m totally tweeting this later. Dream, look.”

He’s shown the picture, it being George and Sapnap smiling at the camera and Alex looking incredibly displeased in the middle. Laughing, he tells Karl to send it to him later and they begin the drive back to the house. 

“Okay, okay, so my housemates just moved out but I made one of their bedrooms into my studio so there’s only one other bedroom and the couches, you guys can draw straws as to who gets what, I don’t really care as long as everyone’s comfortable.”

“Karl, how come sharing your bed isn’t one of the options?” Sapnap asks from the backseat, not even looking up from his phone. Still, a brief turn to face him and Dream can see him trying to hold back a smile.

Karl snickers at this, saying, “Oh, no, I was just talking to Alex, Clay, and George, I thought you already knew we’d be sharing?”

“We’re getting  _ married  _ after all,” the other teases and Dream laughs at this. 

“I’ll take the couch, I wanna stay away from whatever just happened there,” Alex pipes up with a loud laugh as Sapnap shoves him into George who pushes him back. They fight like siblings, but Dream supposes being crammed into the backseat together will have that effect. 

“I’m the most famous one here,” Dream starts, trying to hold back his laugh as he already hears the groans of everyone else in the car, “So I think it’s  _ only fair _ I get the room.

George glares at him, “Okay, well, your fourteen million subscribers can pay for the flight home when we get sick of you.” 

“Damn right,” Sapnap adds on with a matter-of-fact expression. “Nah, it’s chill if you want the room, though, I’m fine wherever. George, you can take the bedroom too, I’ll share with Alex.”

“Dude, I thought you were sharing with me?” Karl exclaimed, sounding offended.

Dream, however, was freaking out over what Sapnap had just initiated, texting him as inconspicuously as possible to say,  _ dude why the fuck would you do that _

_ because you weren’t going to,  _ the response was instant and he felt Sapnap kick the back of his seat. He turned around to glare but refrained from saying anything because he knew that Sapnap was right. 

“Why am I literally fifth-wheeling that’s so embarrassing for me,” Alex muttered, “Why don’t we just all share one bed? Cuddle with the boys for two weeks.”

“You can come share with Sapnap and I,” Karl giggled and Dream wondered if Karl and Sapnap were actually going to share a bed. He wouldn’t be surprised if they did, if not just to keep the joke going. Still, Dream couldn’t believe it was Sapnap’s fault that he and George were going to end up  _ sharing a fucking bed _ . What was this? A bad rom-com? “Okay, we’re here, everyone grab your stuff. Dream, the bedroom is downstairs, I’ll show you so you guys can put your stuff down and everything, and then we can just kind of chill since it’s late. We can worry about streaming ideas and videos tomorrow, sound good?”

“Karl, how’s it feel being the MrBeast of the group right now,” Alex asked as they entered the house, giggling as Karl tried to smack the back of his head and failed because of Alex trying to trip him up with his suitcase. 

“Okay, Dream, George, first door on the left right there, Sapnap, upstairs, second door on the right. Alex, you’re banished to the living room,” Karl explained, pointing in the directions of each room before everyone dispersed. 

Once Sapnap and Karl went upstairs, Alex raised an eyebrow at Dream and George who were still standing in the hall, “Guys, am I the token straight friend?” 

“Probably,” George shrugged before heading into the bedroom, leaving a forlorn Alex and a laughing Dream. He chuckled at Alex’s face before heading into the room behind George, closing the door behind him. 

Once the door was closed, he put his suitcase down and pulled off his coat, leaving him in just a hoodie and jeans, nothing spectacular. He was alone with George now and he was startlingly aware of this fact. He turned and leaned with his back against the door, waiting for the other boy to make the first move. They had never been alone together, not like this. 

There was a beat of silence before George reached out and pulled Dream into a hug. This one was different from the one at the airport. Dream didn’t know how, it just was. His head rested on top of George’s as his arms held the boy around the neck while the other held his waist. 

“I can’t believe you’re really here,” George mumbled, his voice muffled by the hug but Dream could still make out what he was saying.

“You asked me to, so I came,” was Dream’s response. He wondered if George could feel how quickly his heart was beating; he wondered if George’s would be the same. When they pulled away from each other and met their eyes, there was nothing Dream wanted to do more than to kiss him. He had been so scared that the feelings would fade when they met in person and that it wouldn’t be the same, but somehow they were even more pronounced than they had been before. Now they were in the same room, the same space, and Dream wanted to kiss him. 

A knock on the door interrupted the moment and Dream wondered if that knock had come a second later what he would have done. Sapnap’s voice came through the door, “Stop boning, Karl’s ordering pizza, what do you guys want?”

Both of them laughed, the intensity of the moment gone as they seemed to relax around each other. Dream walked over and opened the door, facing Sapnap, “Bold of you to tell  _ us _ to stop boning when I already know we’re gonna be having to wear earplugs at night because of you and your  _ fiance _ . I’m fine with sausage or pepperoni.”

“Yeah, I  _ know _ you’re fine with sausage,” Sapnap teased, causing Dream to smack him as the two boys laughed. “Should we buy noise-canceling headphones for Alex? I feel like that’s something we should do for him.”

“Fuck off,” Dream laughed, “Let me know when the pizza’s here.”

“Will do, stay safe, kids,” Sapnap giggled as he closed the door.

“We’re literally both older than you!” Dream called out after him, but he knew he was already gone. He turned back to face George, “Fucking ridiculous.” 

George’s expression was more serious than he expected it to be, the boy’s voice soft and slow, “Dream, we should… we should probably talk, right?”

He sighed and nodded, “Yeah, we should.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was... so tempted to have them kiss this chapter but i decided against it because these two dumbasses probably need to talk about their feelings first so you get group banter instead!


	21. What is This?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream and George have a conversation (and pizza).

“What is this?” George asked first, the two of them standing a safe distance away from each other. Dream doesn’t know what he would do if he took another step, but he knew it would be damning no matter what. 

Dream shrugged, fully-aware he had no idea how to properly answer this question. “I mean, I don’t know. Two and a half months ago, I told you I liked you, and now…”

“We’re here,” he finishes with a whisper, and Dream nods. “And two months ago, I made it clear that I wasn’t interested in being friends anymore. That still stands. If it’s… if it’s not the same for you, I understand.”

He leans back against the door in awe, his arms crossed as he looks over at George. He isn’t sure if what he’s hearing is true or if he’s going to wake up at any moment back in Florida, this all having been some cruel dream. 

“It’s the same for me,” He tests the words on his tongue, weighing the meaning behind them as they hung in the air in between the two boys. It felt so much more real than it had before. “It’s always been the same for me.” 

After too much time spent waiting, they meet in the middle. Dream reaches out first, pulling George closer to him by his wrist, his hand moving to cradle the back of his head as their lips finally meet. His body burns where George touches him— his hands absentmindedly toying with the hem of Dream’s hoodie, fingertips every so delicately meeting skin. Dream thinks he could do this forever. They break apart and meet again what must have been a hundred times, all he’s aware of is George pushing him against the door while Dream’s hand entangles in his short, dark locks. Part of him is sure he must be dreaming now. They break away for a breath, but their positioning doesn’t change.

“You really are short,” Dream mutters with a breathy laugh.

“Piss off,” George shakes his head, pushing the boy back just to grab him back to press another kiss to his lips. 

He can’t believe this is happening if he’s being frank. The idea of being able to have George here in front of him,  _ kissing  _ him, seemed like nothing more than a fantasy for so long he still wasn’t quite sure it was happening. That wasn’t going to stop Dream from kissing him a million times over, though. He just wanted to hold George close and never let go. 

“I still can’t believe you drove to Texas after telling me you had feelings for me,” George teased, the two of them still standing in the middle of the room with their arms around each other. “I thought I was being obvious.”

“You were not being obvious! I had a whole crisis!” he laughed, shaking his head, “I was so convinced I was gonna fuck everything up.”

George just smiled and kissed him again. 

“Guys,  _ what _ did I say about boning— Oh, shit!” Sapnap’s voice exclaimed as he opened the door, this time without knocking, “I… yeah, I expected this, it’s uh, yeah it’s about fuckin’ time! Pizza’s here. Come get it while it’s hot. Also, George, your hair’s a lil’— ya’ know— uh, might wanna fix it, that’s all. Okay, I’m leaving. Bye, come get pizza.” 

When the door closed behind him, the two boys just looked at each other for a moment in stony silence before they both burst into a fit of laughter. Dream reached out, smoothing down the hair of George’s that he had messed up. Their eyes met for a moment and he realized he wasn’t imagining anything— George was real and he was standing in front of him right now, breathless and flushed. Dream smiled, his eyes crinkling up at the sides. He watched as George reached out a steady hand and brushed the skin by the corner of his eyes, his fingertips soft as he cradled the side of Dream’s face. His grin faded into a soft, close-lipped smile, taking in the warmth of George’s hand against his face. He leaned into it, bringing his hand up to meet his, bringing George’s hand down to his lips as he pressed a kiss to it. Yeah, this was definitely real, and it was  _ everything.  _

When the silence passed, Dream whispered, “We should probably go eat. When was the last time you ate?”

“Too long ago,” George teased, letting go of his face, but they let their hands hang for a moment, fingers loosely intertwined. Nothing was defined, yet, but this felt so incredibly natural Dream almost believed they were. George turned and opened the door, keeping his fingers loosely laced with Dream’s as they navigated their way to the kitchen where Karl was handing everyone paper plates and opening up the pizza box. No one really glanced their way as they entered the kitchen, except for a pointed glance from Sapnap. Dream just bit back a smile, letting go of George’s hand to grab a slice of pizza. His hand felt cold, but he couldn’t hold onto George’s hand forever, unfortunately. Karl and Alex seemed completely oblivious to the interaction, either that or they just chose not to acknowledge it. 

“All right,” Alex was saying as they all settled into the living room, “So, it’s come to my attention that none of you have ever seen  _ Killer Bean _ , so I’m forcing you all to watch it.”

“Oh,  _ God,  _ who let you in my house?” Karl groaned, settling down next to Sapnap with Alex on his other side while Dream and George took the other couch so it wasn’t too crowded. 

“You did,” Sapnap mumbled with a laugh as he took a bite of his pizza, laughing more when Karl shoved him gently. “Dude, how can you get mad at me for telling the truth?”

George spoke up, asking, “What the hell is  _ Killer Bean?”  _

Alex scoffed, ignoring Karl trying to steal the remote from him, “A cinematic masterpiece! Just sit and watch, it’ll be worth it, I promise.”

“Please, I’m so tired,” Sapnap groaned, throwing his head back against the couch. Karl just furrowed his brow at him, jabbing him in the side so he sat up again, exclaiming, “Dude!”

“If I have to watch it, so do all of you,” Karl decided, pulling his legs up onto the couch and resting his plate of pizza on his knees as Alex managed to pull up the movie. “How do you already know how to work my TV?”

He shrugs, “I’ll always know how to find  _ Killer Bean,  _ always.”

Dream chuckles softly to himself, too tired to fully contribute to the conversation as he instead chooses to whisper to George, “Our friends are idiots.”

George laughs at this, responding with, “Oh, yeah, look, how many times do you think we could get away with kissing in front of them while they’re distracted with this without them noticing?” 

“Oh, so many,” Dream rolls his eyes, nudging the boy playfully with his shoulder. “I’m glad we’re all here together, though.”

“Me too,” he hums, leaning his head on Dream’s shoulder as they watch the other three fight over things like volume or subtitles. While no one is looking, Dream turns and presses a kiss to George’s head, reveling in the fact that no one is paying attention to them. He lets himself loosely wrap an arm around George’s shoulders as they ate, feeling at peace. They got comfortable as the stupid bean people movie carried on, the shorter boy leaning into Dream’s touch as they ended up mostly on top of each other, but no one really noticed. It didn’t matter that much considering Karl was almost lying entirely on Sapnap’s lap as the movie carried on.

Alex seemed to notice this after a while, looking at the four of them and saying, “I never wanna watch a movie with you four ever again.”

“Shut up, come here, cuddle with the boys!” Karl mumbled, reaching out an arm for Alex to lean on him. Dream just laughed and shook his head, content with the scene. Looking down at George, who was weirdly focused on the movie, he knew he could get used to this. Still, he knew it would have to end. He would have to go back to Florida and George would have to go back to England, but that was a problem for later. Right now, he was content to let his fingers run through George’s hair as they acted like things could be this way forever. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i STRUGGLED with this chapter omg I was like HOW can I write a kissing scene so good it was worth waiting twenty chapters for?? anyway, i posted my [karlnap fic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28057395/chapters/68737710) so go check it out n give it some love please and thank you! I'll try to update it fairly consistently


	22. It's Real

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream and George have another talk.

“Today was… exhausting,” Dream says with a small laugh as he re-enters the bedroom after showering and getting ready for bed. George is laying on the bed, scrolling through his phone, noticing immediately that Dream is only wearing sweatpants. “Hey, my eyes are up here.”

“ _My eyes are up here_ ,” George mocks, a small smile on his face as Dream pulls a shirt over his head and gets in bed next to him. It should be strange, but instead, it feels almost unbearably natural as if this was something he and George had done a million times. It’s a mundane action, but Dream’s heart is racing. “Hi.”

Dream smiles, trying to scroll his phone and resist the urge to look over at George. “ _Hi_. Don’t tell me you’re gonna be all shy all of a sudden.”

“When have I ever been shy?” He asked, sounding borderline offended at the notion. 

“I mean, I  _ did  _ have to kiss you first—” He’s cut off by the action of George pressing their lips together, his hand cupped around Dream’s jawline, catching him off guard. Dream smiles into the kiss for just a moment before kissing back, allowing himself to grab George’s waist, fingers splayed underneath his t-shirt and against his pale skin. He thinks he could get used to this; to being able to touch and hold George without having to worry about what it has to mean. He’s not afraid of himself anymore, afraid of what he’ll let slip or show. Still, he knows he can’t have this forever.

As if he could read his mind, George stops, pulling away to ask, “What’s wrong?”

“I keep… ugh, no, it’s stupid.”

“Everything you say is stupid, I’m pretty used to it,” The boy shrugs as he leans back with a hand underneath his head, looking up at Dream. “Let me hear it. Please?”

Dream sighs, propping his head up with his elbow, “I just keep thinking about… how we’re gonna have to go back. Like, this isn’t forever and it sucks. Like, I know I should just be happy that we have this time together, but I’m a worrier, it’s in my blood.”

“Clay,” George’s voice is so incredibly soft that he almost can’t handle it. He sits up so he’s more level with Dream, his fingertips grazing his jaw, ever so slightly holding him. Dream thinks George could tear him apart and he would let him. “Just because this part can’t be forever, doesn’t mean the rest of us can’t be. It’s not like I’m going to fly back and then just drop off the face of the earth and never talk to you again. This… this means too much to me to let go, you understand that, right?”

Dream nods and he thinks he has no idea how he got so lucky for things to work out the way they have. He knows George is right, because of  _ course  _ George is right. He just knows that now that he’s held George, he’s never going to want to let go. That’s the hardest part of all of this. Slowly, he reaches out, his fingers dancing across George’s neck before settling along his jawline. 

“This means too much for me to let go, too,” Dream whispers, so quietly he’s almost not even sure he said them out loud. “I feel like… I feel like we’ve been dancing around how we really feel, huh?”

“What do you mean?” He asks, his brow furrowed as if he is fearful of what Dream is going to say next. 

He chuckles softly at the confusion on the boy’s face, reveling in the way he can tell he has George hanging onto every word he says. Before he speaks, Dream realizes he isn’t afraid anymore, “I’m in love with you, George. I think… I think I was for a while, but I was too scared to realize it, but things have changed, clearly. You don’t… you don’t have to feel the same, but I just wanted to tell you.”

George breathes a sigh of relief as if he was expecting something worse and a slow smile spreads across his face, “I’m in love with you, too. I thought it was fairly obvious, really…”

“You’re an idiot,” Dream laughs, using his grip on George’s jaw to pull him closer to him so they can press their lips against each other. He doesn’t think he’ll ever tire of getting to kiss George whenever he wants. He knows he’ll never tire of the warmth from George’s hand cupping his face, fingertips edging into his dirty blond hair, tangling themselves in the still-wet locks. His skin is on fire, but he is happy to let himself burn. 

After a moment he pulled away to ask, “So, like, this is a thing then? We’re really gonna do this?”

George just laughed, pressing a quick kiss to Dream’s lips, “Yeah, I think we are. I mean, I really want to, if I’m being perfectly honest.”

“Me too,” Dream muttered, pausing for a moment as his eyes met George’s, his hands still holding his face. He wondered when he was going to wake up. He wondered if George was just a figment of his imagination. He had to be; there’s no way a man this perfect exists and wants to be with him. Someone needs to pinch him for he must be dreaming right now. “Shit, wait, do we have to like… tell people?”

“Depends, do you mean friends or fans?” 

“I’m pretty sure our friends already know. Sapnap  _ definitely  _ knows,” Dream mutters, falling back against the pillow and staring up at the ceiling, practically forcing himself to tear his eyes away from George. As soon as he shifts, George does as well, wrapping his arm around Dream’s torso and pulling him closer. It was such a small movement that felt so natural, yet it set Dream’s skin on fire just being this close to George. It was intoxicating, really. “Fans?”

The other shrugs, “I think we can let them figure it out, right? They already thought we were dating long before we actually were, why not just keep doing what we already do? They’ll figure it out eventually. We don’t  _ owe  _ them anything.”

“You know how I feel about lying to them,” Dream sighed, “But, it wouldn’t  _ really  _ be lying, I mean, how different would things be?”

“Exactly, we don’t have to make it a huge thing, it can… it can just be me and you and then I’m sure they’ll catch up eventually.”

“Yeah, let’s make them work for it,” he joked, letting himself wrap an arm around George, “For now, though, I’m tired as shit so let’s go to bed, yeah?”

George hesitates for a moment, his eyes raking over Dream’s form in a way that makes him feel so exposed, but not in a bad way. He feels as though George’s gaze can strip him down to his soul, it’s something he’s never felt before. 

“What?” Dream asks after a moment, a slow blush spreading across his face as smiles. He’s never felt shy before, but George seems to have a way to bring that out of him. 

George just shakes his head, “I just… part of me isn’t sure if this is real or not.” 

In lieu of an answer, Dream just presses a gentle kiss to his lips, curious if it feels as immaculate for George as it does for him. In the darkness, he whispers, “It’s real, it’s more real than anything I’ve ever felt.” 

He uses the hand that was wrapped around George’s torso to push himself up against the mattress so that he hangs above George, their lips meeting again and again. There’s a trail of gasoline from George’s fingertips as he roams the terrain of Dream’s chest underneath his shirt, lighting on fire when he opts to remove the shirt entirely. He thinks George could burn him alive; Dream thinks he’ll smile into the flames. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is so short but oh well y'all can deal w it sorry for not updating in two days i had a final yesterday and then work right after, but I'm pretty much on winter break now so I'll try to finish up this fic and then really get started on my karlnap fic!! also,, the fact that none of y'all have made tik toks promoting this fic yet... so rude, i just want fame and fortune is that too much to ask (I'm just kidding, but also, follow me on tik tok! i don't post a ton, but it's @nico.comm if u wanna check it out!!)


	23. Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream loves his friends, but there's one he loves just a little bit more.

They wake up in a dream. As the bleak sunlight from an autumn morning seeps through the blinds, highlighting every pale feature on George’s sleeping face, Dream isn’t sure he’s even woken up at all. Gingerly, he reaches out a hand and brushes a lock of dark hair out of George’s closed eyes, the action so gentle he wonders if the boy felt anything at all. Clearly he didn’t because he didn’t wake. Dream rolls over and grabs his phone, checking the time. It’s early, but not early enough for the house to be silent. This is reaffirmed when he hears someone drop something in the kitchen. He scoffs, shaking his head with a small laugh. Dream sits up, hugging his sweatshirt he had changed into close to his skin as the cold from leaving the covers seeps into his bones. He runs a hand through his hair, sighing as he swings his legs over the side of the bed. He takes one last look at the sleeping George before standing up, intending to search for some breakfast. When he gets to the kitchen, it’s just Alex and Karl, with Alex at the stove making something while Karl sips from a mug. 

“Mornin’. Sleep okay?” Karl asks and Dream nods, “Good, good, uh, there’s iced coffee in the fridge or hot coffee right here, whichever you want. I like both so I keep both.” 

Dream nods and grabs a mug down from the cabinet Karl had motioned to, pouring himself a cup of hot coffee as he turns to Alex, yawning before asking, “Whatcha making?” 

“Scrambled eggs, I figured it was easiest to do for a lot of people, I’m gonna make you guys eat hot sauce with them and like, actual seasoning,” Alex explains, “You know, I get so much shit for the pizza stream, but I literally took a culinary class so…”

“I believe you, don’t worry,” Dream laughs, taking a sip of his coffee once he was finished preparing it to his liking, “Also, the pizza stream was a fucking nightmare.”

“I think I gagged, like, at least ten times,” Karl nodded along with this.

The dark-haired boy gasped, “Yeah, I’m the one who had to fucking eat it! Oh, hi, George.” 

Dream turned as the new person joined the group, George walking right over to Dream and resting his head on his shoulder, whispering, “Morning.”

“Morning,” Dream responds as he offers his coffee over to George who takes a sip before handing it back. He turns to Karl, asking, “Sapnap still out?”

He nods, “Yeah, but I’m sure he’ll be up the second he starts smelling the food.”

“Speaking of,” Alex interrupts, “It’s ready, who wants breakfast?”

“Alex, George is British, if he eats anything with spice, he’ll die,” Dream jokes, being met with a shove from the aforementioned man. They’re both ignored by Karl who rolls his eyes as he pushes past both of them to grab plates down. 

Dream was amazed at how natural this all felt— not just with George, but with everyone. Karl was handing out plates while Alex scooped servings onto everyone’s, asking how much they wanted like he was some school lunch lady. Eventually, Sapnap walked out, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and grabbing a plate. It was a comfortable scene, everyone sleepy and in their pajamas, just going about their morning. They ate scattered around the kitchen, Dream leaning against the counter with George by his side. He wouldn’t mind if they did stuff like this more often. 

“I was gonna stream tonight if you guys wanna hang out on it, I was thinking we do Jackbox or something,” Karl broke the silence, “I think we can squeeze enough chairs into that studio, but I doubt everyone will fit on the face cam which I guess will work out for you, Dream.”

“Yeah, I volunteer to be off-camera,” Dream snickered, “I’m down if everyone else, people will go nuts when they realize we’re all together.” 

“Oh, they already know because  _ someone _ ,” Karl glares at Alex, “tweeted a picture of Sapnap and I asleep on the couch after  _ Killer Bean.” _

Alex, however, had no shame about this as he shrugged, “I’m just giving the people what they wanna see.” 

It was strange to see everyone truly relaxed like this and Dream hadn’t realized until now just how vulnerable people were when they were just waking up. Karl had no pinky rings or sweaters, just sweatpants and a loose t-shirt, Alex was beanie-less and his hair was mussed up from sleep, and Sapnap’s hair was a mess as he shoved his hands in his sweatshirt pockets. George seemed especially soft having just woken up, his hair being able to be described as nothing but  _ fluffy,  _ as he donned a white t-shirt and flannel pants. It was nice to realize just how human they all were when no one was putting on an act or playing a character for a stream. They felt like a little family in their own right. 

“Wait, I wanna see the picture,” George giggled as Alex pulled out his phone and showed him, “Ha, people probably went crazy. Do they know Dream and I are here?”

Karl shrugged, “I’m pretty sure they remembered when I mentioned it on stream months ago, but obviously we haven’t posted anything with Dream in it. It’ll be fun when you guys pop up on the stream tonight, though.” 

The conversation itself was mundane, but Dream enjoyed the casualness of it, snaking an arm around George’s waist without any second glances from anyone else in the room. It was freeing in a way he hadn’t understood before. George leaned into him even more, putting his plate down as they finished up their breakfast, just relishing in the conversation like this was the most normal thing in the world. 

“Imagine if we tried to do a cooking stream with all of us,” Alex asked with a laugh, “Wait, wait, Karl, can we do that?” 

“We can do whatever we want for two weeks, might as well,” Karl shrugged, “I’m not paying for your groceries, though, I survive perfectly fine with whatever’s in my pantry.”

“There’s like one box of pasta and a poptart in there,” the boy sounded absolutely horrified, “You madman.” 

“I’ve survived, have I not?” he defended, but it was a lost cause as everyone else was just laughing at the two of them. 

While no one was paying attention to them, George pressed a kiss to where his head was resting in the crook of Dream’s neck, whispering, “They’re idiots, complete idiots.”

Dream snickered, responding with, “Yeah, but they’re  _ our  _ idiots.” 

“Hey!” Sapnap exclaimed, having heard Dream’s statement, “I better not be included in that statement, I’m just sitting here! Also, what the fuck is happening with you two? Like I expected an update considering I’m the one who literally got you two to stop being fucking stupid.”

“We don’t owe you shit,” Dream retorted, a laugh escaping his lips as he struggled to remain serious. He could never stay serious around Sapnap for long, though. 

“I think Dream is scared of the word boyfriend,” George teased, giving the group the answer they wanted. He just shook his head and laughed. “See? Look how red he’s got! Twenty-one-years-old scared of the word boyfriend!”

Alex groaned, mimicking slamming his head against the table, “How am I the only single one when I’m the sexiest motherfucker here?”

“Karl’s here, though,” Sapnap added through a mouthful of eggs, leading to him being shoved playfully by the said boy and Alex groaning once more.

Dream laughs at this, letting himself lean into George more than he had before. He hadn’t purposefully been holding back, it wasn’t worth it to hold back from everything he could have with George now. He knows the longer he has this, the more he’s going to want this forever. Still, he doesn’t want to think about going home right now. He just wants to think about the warmth of George pressed into his side, of the fun they’ll have with a Jackbox stream tonight, of literally anything but what’s going to happen when it’s time to fly home. He decides he’s just going to let himself be in the moment. He lets himself squeeze George back, leaning his head on top of where the boy is pressed into his shoulder amid fake gagging from Alex. He just rolls his eyes as Sapnap reaches over and flicks his ear, watching as Alex clutches his ear defensively. Karl just laughs at the two of them as he goes to rinse the plates in the sink as if this is an everyday occurrence. 

“I love you,” George whispers in his ear like it’s a secret meant for just the two of them. Dream thinks he wants to freeze time just so this moment can last forever, but he knows even forever wouldn’t be long enough to revel in the fact that he doesn’t have to be afraid of running away from George anymore. 

“I love you, too,” Dream replies with ease, keeping the words just between the two of them as everyone in the room is occupied with something else. Even with the kitchen being full, Dream feels as if it’s just the two of them and he welcomes the feeling wholeheartedly. He knows this moment won’t last, but the feeling will. 

Looking at the figures pacing around the room; Karl washing dishes, Sapnap and Alex fighting over something minimal, and George pressed into his side, Dream thinks he could live like this forever. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's some fluff because on god y'all deserve it after the twenty chapters of just absolute angst between these two so here's dnf and friends being domestic because i adore them. i hope y'all enjoyed and also I've plugged this before but feel free to ask me questions and stuff on my [tumblr](https://andrewjminyvrd.tumblr.com/) pls and thank u i love receiving questions it makes me feel famous


	24. Ends of the Earth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's almost time to go home

Their time in North Carolina was nearing its end— both Dream and George knew this. It was daunting as the date of their flights home drew close and closer, but weirdly enough, Dream wasn’t afraid. He knew that if there was anyone in the world he could pull this off with, it would be George. He knew this by the way the boy held him at night and how they stood side by side in Karl’s kitchen, paying attention to nothing but each other (and the occasional hijinks from their friends). It was calming in a way, but that wouldn’t change the future. Dream knew that George was not always going to be within arms reach and that thought was something he had shoved to the back of his mind. 

“What are you thinking about?” George asked. It was late, everyone had finished streaming and they had all retired to bed, but Dream was wide awake. The dark-haired boy’s head was in his lap while he sat with his back against the headboard, his fingers playing with the brunet locks while his mind raced at what was about to change in a matter of days. Dream looked down at George and smiled softly.  _ My boyfriend _ , he thought to himself, his heart growing warm and fluttery at the thought of it. Something about being in love with George made him feel like a lovesick teenager all over again, but it was so much different this time because he knew George felt the same way.

Dream shrugged, moving his hand from his hair to cup his jaw gently, caressing the skin with fingertips so soft it seemed as if George would break in his hands. He knew the boy wasn’t fragile, though, he knew this. So, he told the truth.

“What’s gonna happen when we leave here,” He answered with a hum, the skin warm beneath his hands, “I mean, I love Karl and all, but I don’t think we can stay in his house forever, can we?” 

“No, I don’t think we can,” George mused, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips as his gaze lifted to meet Dream’s eyes, “Are you worried about going home?” 

Dream just chuckled softly, “I’m starting to feel more at home with you than I ever did in Florida. Is that bad?”

The other shook his head, “I think you’re my home, too.”

“So, what does that mean for when we leave here?” Dream asked because he knew he had to. He was sure they would figure out, but he just wanted to make sure they were on the same page. The two of them had spent so much time going back and forth flipping pages, he wanted to make sure they got it right this time. He wouldn’t let himself ruin this. “Are we… are we gonna try this?”

“Dream, if you think I’m going to let you go because of an ocean between us you’ve seriously underestimated how much I care about you,” George scoffed, sitting up and moving so their shoulders pressed against each other while they turned so their eyes met. “I don’t… I never wanna give up on this. Not now that I finally have it.”

He smiled, wondering how George knew exactly what he wanted to hear. He reached out, grabbing the back of George’s neck and pulling their foreheads together, the two of them close enough that he could feel George’s warm breath on his lips. He wanted to kiss him, but he knew he had to get the words out first.

“I don’t want to give up on this either,” Dream whispered, the words meant for no one else in the world to hear but the two of them as they sat in the room sharing bated breaths. “Even though part of me still doesn’t believe that I even have this in the first place.”

“Believe it,” George says with a coy smile before he finally leans in and closes the gap between them. When Dream kisses George, he feels like a drowning man getting the first gasp of air once he breaches the surface. The world around them melts away as his hands press against the back of George’s neck, the warm seeping in through his fingertips and into his bones, warmth flowing through his veins like he needs George to keep his heart pumping. He’ll never tire of the way George’s lips part for him and how he can feel the boy’s grip on his t-shirt desperately pull him closer. 

They pull away for a breath, their eyes meeting as their hands refuse to leave each other. With a sly smile, Dream asks, “So when are you moving to Florida, since I’m so clearly the love of your life?”

“Way to ruin a moment,” George teases, playfully pushing the boy away from him only to pull him right back and press their lips together. When he pulls away again, he says, “You’ll never catch me in _Florida_ , if anything, you’re moving to Brighton with me.”

“Done,” Dream says, lightly enough that it could be a joke, but he knows George can hear how serious he is when he says that, “I will follow you to the ends of the Earth if I have to, I don’t care where we end up.”

“You can’t… you can’t be serious.” His cheeks are flushed as he shies away from Dream, biting his lip as he tries to hold back a smile, “You can’t just  _ say  _ that like you’d actually do it.”

“I would, that’s the thing,” Dream insists, “If you want me to, I would. You could tell me you were gonna go live in the French countryside and I’d be on the next flight to meet you there. I told you, I’m not giving up on you.”

George was no longer shy as he grabbed Dream and kissed him with a ferocity that hadn’t been there moments ago, his hands desperate as he held onto his t-shirt with the other reaching up to tug at his dirty blond hair. Dream kissed back eagerly, using one hand to hold George back against the headboard while he adjusted so he was straddling his lap. He didn’t care how much time passed like this because he could kiss George this way forever; his hands bypassing the hem of George’s sweatshirt as they splay across his sides, skin meeting skin as they share their warmth. 

There’s a knock on the door and they pause, George shoving Dream off of him like two teenagers about to be busted for doing something they shouldn’t. Their activities are strikingly obvious by the flush in their cheeks and kiss-bitten lips, but they’re not as embarrassed as they probably should be.

“Come in,” Dream calls, a shit-eating grin on his face as he glances over at George’s messy hair and pink face. 

Alex peeks in, looking exhausted just at having to interrupt them as if he knew exactly what he was walking in on, “Listen, I don’t… I don’t wanna know what was happening before I knocked, so I’m not gonna ask, but I’m freezing and I already know you motherfuckers are cuddling, so, if you have an extra blanket, hand it over.” 

Dream laughed at this, grabbing an extra blanket that was half falling off the edge of the bed and tossing it over to him saying, “You know, I’m sure if you asked, Karl and Sapnap would be happy to share with you.”

“I am not…  _ not _ getting in the middle of whatever is happening there,” Alex shook his head, “Anyway, thank you, goodnight,  _ please _ remember I do  _ not _ have headphones.”

“Good _ night _ , Alex,” George spoke insistently, a smile on his face as the boy rolled his eyes and closed the door behind them, leaving the two of them alone once again. “At least he knocked, better than Sapnap.” 

“You would think Sap’s learned his lesson, but no, never,” Dream nods with a laugh as he settles down next to George, laying down with the boy’s head on his chest. “So, what do you say? See how the distance thing goes and maybe in the long run we… I dunno… look for places?” 

George nods, “I like the sound of that. I refuse to live in that  _ swamp _ you call home, though.”

“I live in the city!” Dream reason, but it’s more joking than anything else. He just shakes his head teasingly and pulls the boy closer. “God, George, you’ll be the death of me.”

George just looks up at him and mutters, “You love it.”

He doesn’t even hesitate to whisper back, “I do, I really do.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my one claim to fame w this fic was a tik tok someone made but i saw that they deleted it heart been broke so many times. anyway, i literally was scared to update this because heat waves just updated so i already know no one's gonna care abt this fic anymore so shout out if ur still here love u guys!! 
> 
> also, would you guys rather the next chapter be them going home as a final chapter and then i write another chapter for the epilogue or do you think next chapter should just be the epilogue? i cant decide!!


	25. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time to go home

Dream knew saying goodbye to George was going to be hard. He expected it— prepared himself for it. It should be easy now, kiss him with a promise of seeing him again, of this not being the end because it _wasn’t_. It felt more like a beginning than anything. Still, Dream doesn’t want to let go. Everyone had said their goodbyes already, Sapnap was on a plane to Texas, Alex was waiting by his gate across the airport, but George and Dream stood, not wanting to separate just yet. 

“You getting cold feet?” George asked with a nervous laugh. The words were clearly trying to come across as a joke, but he could see the fear in his eyes. Dream had a feeling his expression was reflected. At least he wasn’t alone in his fear, but he wasn’t sure if that was comforting or not.

A soft smile formed on his face and he shook his head quickly, “Not even close. I just… I didn’t think about how much this was going to suck. Well, I did, but it’s… worse than I thought it was going to be. If that makes sense.” 

“We’ll be fine,” the boy reassures, but both of them can hear the wavering in his voice. This is so new, neither of them really know if it _will_ be fine, and if it isn’t, that’s years of friendship on the line. It’s a daunting thing to stare in the eye; both of them realize this. Dream thinks if George wasn’t holding him, his hands would be shaking. 

_That’s_ why they’ll be okay. He’s always had his friend to rely on, they’ve always loved each other even if it wasn’t originally the way they thought. He remembered before he began to get popular, he thought _“No matter what, I’m taking George with me”_ and none of that has changed. None of that needs to change. Things are a little different now, sure, but what is life without a little change? George has been his rock for so long and he’s been the same way for George. Romantic or not, they’ll always have each other. Dream knows that his life wouldn’t be what it was without George and he knows that won’t change. They’re saying goodbye now, but it’s not goodbye, really. It’s more of a “see you later,” so it seems. He’s going to have to physically let go of George eventually (more specifically, when one of their flights calls for boarding), but he’s not really letting him go.

After a moment, Dream nods slowly, lifting his head and pressing a kiss to George’s forehead, “We will be fine, I know it. You trust me?”

George’s face broke into a smile as he let out a soft laugh, “Of course I trust you. It’d be kind of weird if I didn’t at this point.”

“Fair enough,” he chuckles, wrapping his arms around George, “Then trust that me and you will be perfectly fine. At the end of the day, we’re in this together.”

“You’re such a clichè, Clay,” he can feel George shake his head in the crook of his neck, the words muffled from his face pressed against his skin. He feels the boy press a gentle kiss there and Dream squeezes just a little bit tighter before pulling away. “No wonder you’re so good at roleplaying for the SMP, you’re a walking movie script.”

Dream shoves him playfully, rolling his eyes at him, muttering, “Asshole, isn’t your flight boarding soon? _Sheesh_ , can’t wait to get rid of you.”

“Piss off,” George groans before grabbing Dream in a kiss. Normally, he’s not the type for public displays of affection, but this is a special circumstance considering Dream has absolutely no idea when he’ll be able to do this again. He really hopes it’s soon; he doesn’t think he’ll ever get enough of kissing George. He knows it’s a stupid thought, but really if someone had told him six months ago that he would be standing in an airport in North Carolina after two weeks with his best friends that he would be kissing George, he would have told them to fuck off. Part of him wondered if fans would ever figure it out or if they would be able to keep moments like these completely to themselves with no one ever having to know. He supposed they would give themselves up eventually, whether on purpose or on accident, but for now he was going to revel in their privacy. None of the strangers in the airport with their prying eyes or whispers had any idea who they really were, after all. Even if they did, it was a risk Dream was willing to take so long as he got to have his moment with George. He knew it wouldn’t last, but for a moment it felt like forever. He was going to hold onto that feeling as long as he had to. 

When they pulled away, Dream let his forehead rest against George’s, his hands cupping his face as he took in the warmth of George for one more time. Overhead, he heard his flight begin to call for boarding. He knew there was a time limit, but he didn’t expect it to crawl up on him so soon.

“What boarding group are you in?” George asked, eyes darting nervously to his gate.  
“B,” Dream answered quickly, “We’ve got a little time.”

“Not enough,” the boy muttered and he couldn’t agree more, but he was going to take anything he could get. He was going to absorb every aspect of his last moments with George and replay them over and over again in his mind until they saw each other again. Hopefully, that would be sooner rather than later, but nothing was set in stone yet. Dream had a feeling it would be soon, though, he couldn’t stand to leave George behind for long. They had tied their red string, it would pull them together again soon enough. 

_“Calling boarding group A for Flight 147 to Orlando,”_ the voice overhead called again, time edging closer and closer to an end. 

“You should probably go,” George mumbles while avoiding Dream’s eyes, but he isn’t having it. He tugs the boy by his wrist into a hug, wrapping his arms around his neck tightly. He buries his head next to George’s, taking in his scent one more time. It wouldn’t be the last time— he had snuck one of George’s hoodies into his suitcases, he had a feeling George noticed but had simply opted not to say anything as he stole one of Dream’s as well. That was something Dream never had with anyone else, a complete understanding of one another. It was something that had always come naturally with George and something he was immensely grateful for. He would always be grateful for George. 

“Not yet,” he whispered, keeping the words just for the two of them. “I’m taking as long as I possibly can to say goodbye to you.”

George laughed softly at this, pushing him away and nodding toward his gate, “Dream… you _do_ have to let go eventually. I know, I’m not happy about it either.”

Their eyes met and Dream knew that even though he was leaving now, he would be home again one day. He nodded, saying, “I love you.”

_“Now calling boarding group B for Flight 147 to Orlando.”_

“I love you, too,” George whispered back, motioning to the gate, “You really do have to go now.”

“I know, I know,” he sighed as he began to walk back towards his gate, not quite departing just yet as his eyes darted between George and the line to get on the plane. He turned back to George, “I’ll see you again soon, yeah?”

George nodded, “Text me when you land.”

With that, Dream headed towards his gate where he joined the line and got his boarding pass out. He turned around, seeing George still standing in the spot he left him. When he caught Dream’s eye he smiled and Dream smiled in return. He had a feeling they were going to be just fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i check the bookmark notes bc im insecure and need to know what people think of this story but someone called this a "heat waves rip off tbf" and i hate lurking and getting my feelings hurt bc i worked really hard to make sure that this was different from heat waves bc of how popular it was i didn't want the two to be compared just bc they both take place irl rather than an au so in conclusion,,, don't say mean shit in your bookmark notes I'm sensitive and can't handle criticism!!
> 
> that aside, this is technically the last chapter so whether you've been here from the beginning or joined somewhere along the ride thank you so much for reading and supporting my work! if you wanna read more of my stuff check out my profile and subscribe bc I'll probably write more mcyt fic in the future or feel free to stick around for my aftg content as well!! i hope you guys enjoyed this book and I'll try and get the epilogue posted soon!!
> 
> check me out these places!!
> 
> [tumblr](https://andrewjminyvrd.tumblr.com/)  
> [spotify](https://open.spotify.com/user/nicole.burns013)  
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/nicowritess)  
> also my [ko-fi](https://ko-fi.com/cieopatras) if u wanna check that out!


	26. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One morning, a year later.

Dream yawned and stretched his arms above his head as he took in the start of a new day. Sunlight streamed in through the light blue curtains, the rays shifting and blurring as cold wind blew in through the open window. He shook his head with a small smile as he got out of bed and shut the window, relishing in the sudden warmth. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he left the bedroom and headed towards the kitchen where there was already a pot of coffee waiting, a dirty mug already in the sink. Dream hummed to himself as he made his morning coffee, taking in the comfortable silence of the home, the only noise being the occasional car passing by the quiet street outside.

As he took his first sip of coffee, a pair of arms wrapped around his waist as a head rested in between the crook of his neck and shoulder, pressing a soft kiss to the skin there and squeezing in a silent good morning. 

“Mornin’,” George mumbled, clearly not having been up for long judging by his messy hair and the raspiness of his voice. 

“Morning,” Dream responded, unable to hide the smile in his voice. He had gotten used to mornings like this, but that didn’t make the many less exhilarating. Placing his coffee back on the counter, he turned around to face George, cupping his face as he pressed a chaste kiss to his lips, pulling back to say, “Happy one year, hm. I got us reservations at that one Italian place you like.”   
George kissed him softly, smiling into it as he pulled back to pepper a kiss on Dream’s freckled nose, “Of course you did, you angel. We haven’t been there in like two months, I miss it.”

“I know, that’s why I picked it, dummy,” Dream teased, grabbing his coffee and pushing away from the counter as he pulled his phone from where it was plugged in. He had a text from Sapnap asking if they were going to stream tonight and countless Twitter notifications, but he ignored those in favor of telling Sapnap they were mostly going to be offline today. It was strange how the two of them had gotten to answering things like that for each other, but it seemed the domestic life suited them that way. He held up his phone, the sight being George standing there with his scruffy hair and the ghost of a grin on his face. He just shook his head and went to hold up a hand to block the photo, but Dream was able to snap it right in the middle of him moving so it was just a blurry mess of morning George. “Ugh, perfect.” 

“You’re ridiculous,” he shook his head as he walked over and set his head on Dream’s shoulder as he typed out a tweet, “Two can play that game, asshole.”

There was never any heat behind words like that anymore, there hadn’t been for a long, long time and Dream was perfectly okay with that. He liked things how they were now much, much better. George pulled out his phone and took a photo of Dream who opted to hide his face and flip off the camera. Thanks to them living together, their fans had gotten snippets of his face mainly in the form of blurry photos and obscure shots, but Dream cared less and less about hiding his face the longer it went on. Somehow, the fans still hadn’t figured out that Dream packing up and moving to Brighton was incredibly homosexual in nature and was pretty sure the two of them were still just really good friends, but Dream didn’t care about that either. 

_ Happy one year, you idiot _ , Dream tweeted along with the picture, sticking his tongue out as he showed it to George who just rolled his eyes and tweeted something similar. 

“You know, I think I’m hilarious,” Dream mumbled to himself who was just nudged gently in the side by George, “Oh shut up, you think I’m funny, too.”

“I said nothing,” George teased as notifications immediately flooded both of their phones, but neither of them went to look at them. 

All Dream received of note was a text from Sapnap saying,  _ ur gay lol _ , which he showed to George with a laugh. 

“He’s so stupid,” George shook his head and tried to hide the smile on his face, but it was no use. 

“I hope he never changes,” he just laughed, taking another sip of his coffee, “Do you… okay, stupid question, but, like, do you think we’ll ever change? Because I never want this to change, I love the way things are with you right now.”

“No matter how much we change as people, I’m never going to stop loving you the way I do right now,” George responds, not hesitating to kiss Dream senseless. It reminds Dream of the first time they kissed, panicked and desperate in Karl’s spare bedroom like they were going to die if they didn’t have their hands on each other. Sometimes Dream still felt like that when they kissed— like George was the air in his lungs. He would never tire of that feeling. His cup of coffee was forgotten, already cooling on the counter as he let his hands hold George’s waist while the other boy cupped his face. He could stand in the kitchen like this forever.

He pulls away finally, resting his forehead against George’s, muttering, “I’m never gonna stop loving you the way I do now, either. I  _ do _ hate to put a stop to this, but we do have a video to record. I already told Sapnap we can’t stream today, but I  _ am _ gonna force you to record with me. I’m starting to fall behind.”

George rolled his eyes but pulled away, his hands still gripping Dream’s wrist loosely as he let out an overexaggerated sigh, “Can’t let down your seventeen million, now, can you?’

“Fuck  _ off, _ you’re just jealous because your boyfriend is otherworldly famous,” he teased as he grabbed his coffee— now cold, but he didn’t really care— and headed towards the studio they shared. George followed, of course. 

“ _ Otherworldly famous _ ,” he mocked, “I’m going to kill you.”

“You threaten that too much for someone who has had about a million opportunities to pull it off, I’m a very deep sleeper, you know,” Dream remarked, beginning to set things up for their video. It wasn’t anything fancy like a manhunt or speedrun, just another mod they had come up with so hopefully it wouldn’t take much more than an hour or two to record. 

The other just sighed as he sat down in his chair, scrolling through his phone as he huffed out a brief, “Yeah, I know, you snore. Whatever. I’m gonna order the most expensive thing tonight just to piss you off.” 

“Who said I was paying?” Dream joked, but seeing George look up with a shocked expression was gold. “I’m kidding, _kidding_ , sheesh, you’re such a gold digger, George.”

“I’m gonna kill you,” he mumbled for the second time that morning, reaching out for Dream’s wrist and pulling him down into a brief kiss that very much contradicted his statement. Dream wasn’t complaining, though. 

Dream just laughed and kissed him back, “Yeah, yeah,  _ sure _ you are.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may have teared up while writing this ngl
> 
> thank you to [sapphicwritings](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sapphicwritings) for beta-ing this whole fic and be sure to go check out their dnf fic that I beta bc it's *chef's kiss*
> 
> thank you guys for coming along on this journey and for the overwhelming response to this fic it really does mean a lot! I'm sad to see this fic go, but I'll definitely be writing more of these two in the future!


End file.
